Gilbert Arthur Foan (1887 – 21 February 1935) was aBritish hairdresser and socialist politician. He wrote several influential books on hair and make-up.
Born inYeovil to aQuaker family, Foan received an elementary education before becoming an agricultural labourer. By 1911, he was living inSaffron Walden, where he became the secretary of the local branch of theIndependent Labour Party (ILP). He was also active in theNational Agricultural Labourers' and Rural Workers' Union, and was a leading figure in its East Anglian strike, from 1912 until 1914.[1] He married Edith in 1914, and the couple relocated toCroydon, where Foan opened a tobacconists' shop, where he also worked as a hairdresser. DuringWorld War I, he was aconscientious objector, and was sentenced tohard labour atWormwood Scrubs. In April 1919, he was released due to his poor health.[2]
Foan became the chair of the Croydon branch of the ILP, and also of the localLabour Party, to which the ILP was affiliated.[1] He was the Labour Party candidate forCroydon North at the1923,1924 and1929 general elections, taking a distant second place on each occasion.[3] He served on the CroydonBoard of Guardians from 1922 until 1930, and onCroydon Town Council from 1926.[4][5] At the1931 general election, he instead contestedChelsea, taking second place but only 17% of the vote.[3]
In 1926/27, Foan served as the president of the Hairdressers' Trade Parliamentary Committee, later serving as its secretary, and also as registrar of the Hairdressers' Registration Council.[6] He wrote frequent articles for theHairdressing Times and Record,The Hairdresser, andThe Hairdressers' Weekly,[1] arguing in favour of hairdressers receiving training through colleges.[7] In 1931, he publishedThe Art and Craft of Hairdressing,[8] while with H. Stanley Bedgrove he co-authored two books on cosmetics:Paint, Powder and Patches, andHair-dyes and Hair-dyeing: Chemistry and Technique.[6]
Foan also wrote on criminology, and gave frequent public speeches aboutsocialism. He held membership of theNo More War Movement, and of theSouth Suburban Co-operative Society.[1] He died early in 1935, and was cremated atWest Norwood Cemetery.[6][2]
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