Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside

The Right Honourable The Viscount Ruffside PC, DL, JP
Speaker of the House of Commons
In office 1943–1951
Monarch	George VI
Preceded by	Hon. Edward FitzRoy
Succeeded by	William Morrison
Personal details
Born	16 August 1879
Died	5 May 1958
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Violet Arbuthnot (d. 1969)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Colonel Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside PC, DL, JP (16 August 1879 – 5 May 1958) was a British politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1943 to 1951.

Background and education

Brown was the son of Colonel James Clifton Brown, grandson of Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet. His mother was Amelia (née Rowe) while Howard Clifton Brown was his elder brother.^[1] He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[2]

Political career

Brown was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hexham from 1918 to 1923 and from 1924 to 1951.^[1][3] He was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1938 to 1943 and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1943 to 1951.^[1] He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1941^[1][4] and raised to the peerage as Viscount Ruffside, of Hexham in the County of Northumberland, in 1951.^[5]

Family

Lord Ruffside married Violet Cicely Kathleen, daughter of Frederick Eustace Arbuthnot,^[6] in 1907. There were no surviving male issue from the marriage. However, their daughter Audrey Clifton Brown married Harry Hylton-Foster, Speaker of the House of Commons, and was created a life peeress as Baroness Hylton-Foster in honour of her husband in 1965. Lord Ruffside died in May 1958, aged 78, when the viscountcy became extinct. The Viscountess Ruffside died in November 1969, aged 87.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Colonel Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st and last Viscount Ruffside". Thepeerage.com. http://thepeerage.com/p18408.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
2. ^ Brown, Douglas Clifton in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
3. ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Hertford to Honiton
4. ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1915-1968
5. ^ London Gazette: no. 39408. p. 6523. 14 december 1951.
6. ^ "d". Kittybrewster.com. http://www.kittybrewster.com/members/d.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Douglas Clifton Brown
• Portraits of Douglas Clifton Brown at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Richard Durning Holt	Member of Parliament for Hexham 1918–1923	Succeeded by Victor Finney
Preceded by Victor Finney	Member of Parliament for Hexham 1924–1951	Succeeded by Rupert Speir
Political offices
Preceded by Robert Croft Bourne	Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means 1938 – 1943	Succeeded by James Milner
Preceded by Sir Dennis Herbert	Chairman of Ways and Means 1943	Succeeded by James Milner
Preceded by Hon. Edward FitzRoy	Speaker of the House of Commons 1943 – 1951	Succeeded by William Morrison
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Viscount Ruffside 1951–1958	Extinct