Ernest Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
Encyclopedia
Ernest Emil Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe (9 October 1879 – 3 October 1960) was an industrialist and politician in the United Kingdom.
Born in Didsbury
, Manchester
, Simon was educated at Rugby School
and at Pembroke College, Cambridge
, before entering the family's engineering business on the death of his father Henry Gustav Simon. He successfully expanded the company into building grain silos, and the wealth generated by the business allowed him to enter politics and to become a generous philanthropist.
He served as a member of Manchester City Council
from 1912 to 1925, and as Lord Mayor
of Manchester
in 1921–1922. He is chiefly remembered for the slum clearances and housing projects he initiated in the city, notably the Wythenshawe estate
.
Simon also sat as a Liberal
Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington
from 1923–24 and from 1929–1931, and was knight
ed in 1932. He joined the Labour Party
in 1946, and in 1947 he was made a peer and appointed chairman of the BBC
Board of governors
.
In 1912 he married Shena Dorothy Potter (1883–1972), a noted social reformer. They had two sons, and a daughter who died in childhood. Their eldest son, Roger Simon
, was a solicitor and one of the founders of CND
; his younger brother was the educationist and historian Brian Simon
.
Born in Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Simon was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, before entering the family's engineering business on the death of his father Henry Gustav Simon. He successfully expanded the company into building grain silos, and the wealth generated by the business allowed him to enter politics and to become a generous philanthropist.
He served as a member of Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
from 1912 to 1925, and as Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1921–1922. He is chiefly remembered for the slum clearances and housing projects he initiated in the city, notably the Wythenshawe estate
Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...
.
Simon also sat as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington
Manchester Withington (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester, Withington is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system...
from 1923–24 and from 1929–1931, and was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1932. He joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1946, and in 1947 he was made a peer and appointed chairman of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Board of governors
Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replaced by the BBC Trust on 1 January 2007.The governors...
.
In 1912 he married Shena Dorothy Potter (1883–1972), a noted social reformer. They had two sons, and a daughter who died in childhood. Their eldest son, Roger Simon
Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe was a British solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist. He was one of the founders of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament....
, was a solicitor and one of the founders of CND
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
; his younger brother was the educationist and historian Brian Simon
Brian Simon
Professor the Hon. Brian Simon , was an English educationist and historian.-Background and early life:The younger son of Ernest Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe and Shena, Lady Simon, he was the brother of the second Baron Simon of Wythenshawe, Roger Simon, the solicitor and writer on...
.