William Adamson
(1863-1936), Politician, Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party and Secretary of State for ScotlandSitter in 14 portraits
The son of a coalminer, William Adamson was born in Dunfermline. He himself spent twenty-seven years from the age of eleven working in the mining industry. He joined the National Union of Mineworkers, first as a branch delegate, and rising through the ranks to become General Secretary by 1908. Adamson was elected to Parliament as a Labour Party MP in 1910. In 1917 he was elevated to the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Labour Party; he held this post until being replaced by J. R. Clynes in 1921. Throughout the 1920s Adamson remained a senior figure within the Parliamentary Labour Party. He headed the Scottish Office in both the 1924 and the 1929 governments until losing his seat in the 1931 election.
William Adamson; Keir Hardie; Thomas Richardson
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 6 February 1911
NPG x137724
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 14 March 1918
NPG x22371
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 14 March 1918
NPG x22372
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 2 February 1920
NPG x22373
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 2 February 1920
NPG x22374
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 2 February 1920
NPG x22375
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1920
NPG x67175
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 20 December 1923
NPG x122825
Ramsay MacDonald and his cabinet of 1924
by Elliott & Fry
12 x 10 inch glass plate negative, 1924
NPG x182171
by Barratt's
bromide postcard print, 1929
NPG x197884
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII); David Lloyd George; Bonar Law; William Adamson
by Vandyk
glass negative, 24 April 1919
NPG x28589
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.