James Harold Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (1916-1995)

James Harold Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 - 24 May 1995) was a British Politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976, as well as holding several other political positions.

 Birth and Family 

James Harold Wilson was born on the 11th March 1916 at 4 Warneford Road, Huddersfield; the son of James Herbert Wilson (1882-1971) and his wife Ethel Seddon (1881-1958).

 Career 

After graduating from Jesus College, Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937, Wilson joined the civil service during the Second World War instead of seeing active service on the battlefield. However, as a result of his work as Director of Economics and Statistics at the Ministry of Fuel and Power, Wilson was awarded an OBE in 1945.

In the same year, Wilson was elected the MP for Ormskirk as a result of the general election and was subsequently made President of the Board of Trade in 1947. Though he was seen as a left-wing politician, he was elected to the shadow cabinet in 1954; a position which gained him enough praise to allow him to be elected the Leader of the Labour Party in 1963, and consequently the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the following year.

Wilson's first term lasted just under six years, when the Conservative party were elected back into power, thoufh Wilson remained as the Leader of the Opposition. Therefore, Wilson was reinstated as Prime Minister in 1974 after a Conservative defeat, and served for a further two years until his resignation in 1976.

 Marriage and Family 

Wilson married Gladys Mary Baldwin (1916) on the 1st January 1940 at the chapel of Mansfield College at the University of Oxford. The marriage produced two children: Robin James Wilson (1943) and Giles D J Wilson (1948).

Death

Wilson died on the 24th May 1995 at St. Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth at the age of 79.

[[Category:Married in 1940]