Harold Wilson

This article is about the British politician. For the Olympic silver medallist, see Harold A. Wilson.

Birth and Early Life

Wilson was born in Huddersfield in 1916, an almost exact contemporary of his great rival, Edward Heath. He came from a political family, his father Herbert having been active in the Liberal Party and then having joined the Labour Party. When Wilson was eight, he visited London and a later-to-be-famous photograph was taken of him standing on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street.

Related Topics:
Huddersfield - 1916 - Edward Heath - Liberal Party - Labour Party - 10 Downing Street

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Wilson passed the 11-plus examination and won a scholarship to attend the local grammar school. His education was disrupted in 1931 when he contracted typhoid fever after drinking contaminated milk on a Scouts' outing and took months to recover. The next year his father, working as an industrial chemist, was made redundant and moved to the Wirral to find work. Wilson attended the sixth form at the local grammar school, Wirral Grammar School for Boys, where he became Head Boy. Wilson did well at school and won a scholarship to study History at Jesus College, Oxford from 1934.

Related Topics:
11-plus - Grammar school - 1931 - Typhoid - Scouts - Wirral - Wirral Grammar School for Boys - Head Boy - History - Jesus College, Oxford - 1934

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At Oxford, Wilson was moderately active in politics as a member of the Liberal Party but was later influenced by G. D. H. Cole to join the Labour Party. After his first year, he changed his field of study to Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and he graduated with an outstanding first class degree. He continued in academia, becoming one of the youngest Oxford University dons of the century.

Related Topics:
Liberal Party - G. D. H. Cole - Labour Party - Philosophy, Politics and Economics - Oxford University

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Wilson was a lecturer in Economics at New College in 1937 and a lecturer in Economic History at University College from 1938 (and was a fellow of the latter college, 1938-45). For much of this time, he was a research assistant to William Beveridge on unemployment and the trade cycle.

Related Topics:
New College - 1937 - University College - 1938 - 45 - William Beveridge

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On the outbreak of the Second World War, Wilson volunteered for service but was classed as a specialist and moved into the Civil Service instead. Most of his War was spent as a statistician and economist for the coal industry. He was Director of Economics and Statistics at the Ministry of Fuel and Power, 1943-4. He was to remain passionately interested in statistics for the rest of his life. As President of the Board of Trade, he was the driving force behind the Statistics of Trade Act 1947, which is still the legal authority used to collect most economic statistics in Great Britain. As Prime Minister, he was instrumental in appointing Claus Moser as head of the Central Statistical Office. He was President of the Royal Statistical Society in 1972-3.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Civil Service - Statistician - Ministry of Fuel and Power - 1943 - 4 - President of the Board of Trade - 1947 - Claus Moser - Central Statistical Office - Royal Statistical Society - 1972 - 3

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