Ramsay MacDonald

1st November 1910: The Scottish politicians (James) Ramsay MacDonald (1866 - 1937) Britain's first Labour prime minister (right), and Arthur Henderson (1863 - 1935) chairman of the Labour Party. Ramsay MacDonald was born in Lossiemouth. He moved to London in 1884 where he was active in the Labour movement. He helped to found the Labour Party in 1900 and was elected to the House of Commons as an MP in 1906. He became Labour Party Chairman in 1911 but resigned over the party's refusal to support his opposition to Britain's entry into World War I. MacDonald lost his seat in the House in 1918 but regained it (and the party leadership) in 1922. He went on to become Prime Minister and foreign secretary of the first Labour Government in British history, from January to November 1924. He served as Prime Minister again after the Labour party's victory in the May 1929 election but resigned two years later rather than implement his party's plans to halt the economic depression. He immediately formed a coalition government, which he led as Prime Minister, supported by the Conservatives and Liberals. MacDonald resigned due to ill health in 1935 and served as lord president of the Council in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin until he died in November 1937. Arthur Henderson (1863 - 1935) was born in Glasgow but brought up in Newcastle where he worked as an iron moulder and became a lay preacher. He helped to establish the Labour party and was appointed chairman on several occasions (1908 - 1910, 1914 - 1917 and 1931 - 1932). He also served in the wartime Coalition cabinet and later worked as Home Secretary (1924) and Foreign Secretary (1929 - 1931). His enthusiasm for disarmament issues also led to him being elected chairman of the International Disarmament Conference in 1932. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1934. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)