David Adams was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Labour

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...

 politician who served as a 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,...

 (MP from 1922 to 1923, and from 1935 to his death in 1943.

He was the son of John Adams of Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, and was educated at the School of Art and Science in the city's Armstrong College. He took up a career as an engineer with the local shipping company of D. Adams and Company and the Anglo-Scottish Trading Company.

In 1902 he was elected to Newcastle City Council

Newcastle City Council

Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the city's 26 wards...

, and held the office of sheriff in 1922-1923 and 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...

 in 1930-1931.

At the 1918 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the new Newcastle upon Tyne West constituency

Newcastle upon Tyne West (UK Parliament constituency)

Newcastle upon Tyne West was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, losing to the Liberal Party

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...

 cabinet minister Edward Shortt

Edward Shortt

Edward Shortt PC KC was a British lawyer and Liberal Party politician. He served as a member of David Lloyd George's cabinet, notably as Home Secretary from 1919 to 1922.-Background and education:...

. Shortt stood down at the 1922 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1922

The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

, and Adams won the seat with a majority of only 156, over the National Liberal

National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)

The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...

 candidate Cecil Ramage

Cecil Beresford Ramage

Cecil Beresford Ramage, MC was a British barrister, actor and Liberal politician.Following education at the Edinburgh Academy, Ramage was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Scots at the outbreak of World War I...

. At the 1923 election

United Kingdom general election, 1923

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

 Ramage took the seat with a majority of over 3,500.

Adams unsuccessfully contested City of York

City of York (UK Parliament constituency)

The City of York was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 at the 1924 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1924

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

, and Barrow-in-Furness at the 1931 contest

United Kingdom general election, 1931

The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...

. He returned to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 at the 1935 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1935

The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...

, as 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,...

 for Consett

Consett (UK Parliament constituency)

Consett was a county constituency, centred on the town of Consett in County Durham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....

 in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, gaining a majority of 7,522 over the National Liberal

National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)

The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...

s.

Adams married Elizabeth Havelock Patterson in 1897, and they had two sons and a daughter. He died at his home at Jesmond

Jesmond

Jesmond is a residential suburb and is split into two electoral wards just north of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The population is about 12,000. It is adjacent to, and to the east of, the Town Moor, providing pedestrian and cycle paths to Spital Tongues and the city's two Universities...

, Newcastle in August 1943, aged 72.

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