The Honourable

The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

 Angus McDonnell CB CMG (7 June 1881 - 22 April 1966) was a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 engineer

Railway systems engineering

Railway systems engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of railway systems....

, diplomat and Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician.

He was the second son of William Randal McDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim and Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim

Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim

Louisa Jane McDonnell, née Grey VA , was the daughter of Hon. Charles Grey and his wife, Caroline Eliza née Farquhar....

. Following education at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, he briefly entered business as a merchant banker

Merchant bank

A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....

 with Morgan Grenfell

Morgan, Grenfell & Co.

Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks.-History:...

. He subsequently moved to the United States of America, where he worked for Chiswell Langhorne

Chiswell Langhorne

Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne was an American railroad millionaire. He was the father of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and Michael Langhorne Astor....

 constructing railways in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. McDonnell became a close friend of Langhorne's daughter Nancy Astor

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in December 1918 after running for the Sinn Féin party in 1918 General Election, but in line...

.

With the outbreak of the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he served with the railway troops reserve of the 1st Canadian Division

1st Canadian Division

Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...

 , constructing railways behind the lines of the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

, rising to the rank of colonel.

He returned to the United Kingdom, where he was chosen byn the Conservative Party to contest the constituency of Dartford

Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Notes and references:...

 at the 1924 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1924

- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...

. He successfully won the seat, narrowly defeating the siting 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...

 member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, John Edmund Mills. McDonnell had little interest in parliament, and did not defend the seat in 1929

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

, returning to his business activities.

When America entered the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in 1941, McDonnell was appointed Honorary Attaché to Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 where he was able to use his personal and business contacts to assist Lord Halifax

E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...

, British Ambassador to the United States.

He married Ethelwyn Sylvia Arthur Jones, daughter of Henry Arthur Jones, on 13 December 1913. They had no issue, and she died in 1948. He died aged 84 at his home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, in April 1966.