C. W. Bowerman

Charles William Bowerman, often known as C. W. Bowerman (22 January 1851 - 11 June 1947), was a prominent British trade unionist and politician.

Born in Honiton, Bowerman moved to Clerkenwell in London at an early age. On leaving education, he worked as a jeweller and then a compositor. In 1872 he briefly worked for Hour newspaper before moving to the Daily Telegraph. He joined the London Society of Compositors in 1873 and became its General Secretary in 1892, a post he held until 1906.

In 1893, Bowerman joined the Fabian Society, and in 1897, he was elected to the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress, the body which later became the General Council. In 1901, was elected as a Progressive Party alderman on London County Council, a position he held until 1907.

Bowerman was the President of the TUC in 1901, and the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee from 1911 until 1921, when he became the organisation's first General Secretary. He retired from the post in 1923.

In 1906, Bowerman was elected as the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Deptford, a post he retained until the 1931 UK general election, becoming a privy councillor in 1916.

In the years following his defeat, Bowerman joined the Next Five Years Group, the council of Ruskin College and the board of directors of the Co-operative Printing Society.

References

• Encyclopedia of Marxism: Glossary of People
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• 1903 photo
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Charles Bowerman

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Arthur Morton	Member of Parliament for Deptford 1906–1931	Succeeded by Denis Augustine Hanley
Political offices
Preceded by C. J. Drummond	General Secretary of the London Society of Compositors 1892–1906	Succeeded by D. Pointing
Preceded by W. Pickles	President of the Trades Union Congress 1901	Succeeded by W. C. Steadman
Preceded by W. C. Steadman	Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC 1911–1921	Succeeded by Position abolished
Preceded by New position	General Secretary of the TUC 1921–1923	Succeeded by Fred Bramley
Preceded by T. P. O'Connor	Oldest Member of Parliament (not Father of the House) 1929 - 1931	Succeeded by Frederick Hall

Persondata
Name	Bowerman, Charles William
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 January 1851
Place of birth
Date of death	11 June 1947
Place of death