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George Dixon (MP)
Encyclopedia
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...
politician who was active in local government in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1867 and 1898. He was a major proponent of education for all children.
Life
Born in 1820 in GomersalGomersal
Gomersal is a village in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton, and north of Heckmondwike and close to the River Spen....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, he was educated at Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School was an independent school in Leeds established in 1552. In August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically united in September 2008....
and learned French in France. He moved to Birmingham in 1838 with his brother and joined Rabone Brothers, a firm of merchants. He became a partner in 1844 and rose to become head of the firm in which he remained all his life. In 1885 he married the sister of politician James Stansfeld, daughter of James Stansfeld, a judge in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
.
Dixon entered local government as a councillor for Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
in Birmingham in 1863. He was elected Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in November 1866.
In July 1867 he resigned office to become a parliamentary candidate for Birmingham
Birmingham (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the city of Birmingham, in what is now the West Midlands Metropolitan County, but at the time was Warwickshire.-Boundaries and History:...
after the death of William Scholefield
William Scholefield
William Scholefield was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a leading figure in the politics of the rapidly-growing industrial town of Birmingham in the mid-nineteenth century.-Early life and family:...
and was elected 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) on 23 July 1867.
He was elected to the School Board
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
in 1873, and chairman in 1876, after retiring from parliament when his wife became ill. He resigned from the board in 1896. In 1885 he became MP for Edgbaston and continued in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
until his death in 1898.
Education for all
One of his first achievements as Mayor in early 1867 was a private conference he held in his house for the leading men of the town to discuss a possible remedy for the lack of education for children. In March a public meeting was held in the Town HallBirmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
where the Birmingham Education Society was formed along the lines of one created in 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...
and Salford in 1864. The society raised money to pay the school fees of some children, and raised awareness of the need.
The Education Societies paved the way for the bolder and more political National Education League
National Education League
The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control....
which started in Birmingham in 1869, chaired by Dixon, with support from Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
(vice-chairman, later chairman of the executive committee) , R. W. Dale
Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale was an English Congregationalist church leader.-Life:Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry...
, Jesse Collings (honorary secretary of the League, and of the Education Aid Society), and William Harris. The League resolved that a bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
should be prepared for the next session of Parliament to give non-sectarian education to all children. After some political promises and compromise the Elementary Education Act 1870
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales...
(Forster's Act) was passed, meeting some of the requirements of the League, and the first School board
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
s were elected. The League continued to campaign for a further seven years and elementary education (to age 12) eventually became free and compulsory in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. In 1867 Dixon introduced a bill to establish school boards in areas where there were already sufficient schools. This bill was rejected.
One of Dixon's experiments was the creation in 1884 of Bridge Street Technical School in the old Cadbury's premises, bought by him, converted to a school at his own expense, and leased to the board at a nominal rent. It taught science and mechanics to 400 of the brighter boys for two years beyond normal school leaving age. This was a great success and was repeated in large towns across the country, and led to the Technical Instruction Act, which formalised the finance of this type of school. In 1888 the technical school moved to occupy the Oozells Street Board School
Ikon Gallery
The Ikon Gallery is an English gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Grade II listed, neo-gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1877. The gallery's current director is Jonathan Watkins.Ikon was set up to...
as the George Dixon Higher Grade School and included girls. Waverley Road Higher Grade School was created in Small Heath
Small Heath, Birmingham
Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on and around the A45 ....
in 1892 for 555 children.
Dixon was made an honorary freeman of Birmingham
Honorary Freedom of the City of Birmingham
Honorary Freemen of the City of BirminghamThe City of Birmingham, England has granted Honorary Freedom to individuals and military organisations since 1888. Designation as a Freeman of the City is an honorary title and, subject to a two thirds majority of the Council, is granted to persons of...
in 1898, the year he died.
The 1906 George Dixon Schools (now George Dixon Primary School, George Dixon Lower School, and George Dixon International School and Sixth Form Centre) in Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
are named after him. Indirectly, through the school, he gave his name to the television character Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, who first appeared in a film, The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp
The Blue Lamp is a British crime film released in early 1950 by Ealing Studios, directed by Basil Dearden and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Jack Warner as police constable George Dixon, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde in an early role...
produced by a former pupil there, Sir Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
.
See also
- School board (England & Wales)School board (England & Wales)School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
- Birmingham board schoolsBirmingham board schools__notoc__The Birmingham board schools were set up very rapidly after the Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 was enacted, covering England and Wales...
- National Education LeagueNational Education LeagueThe National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control....
Sources
- Nine Famous Birmingham Men, edited J. H. Muirhead, Cornish Brothers Ltd., Birmingham, 1909, Article by George H. Kenrick.
- George Dixon School
- British History Online, from: "Public Education: Introduction", A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham (1964), pp. 486-500.