John Burns


Burns, John

 

Born Oct. 20, 1858, in London; died there Jan. 24, 1943. Figure in the English labor movement. Mechanic by trade.

Burns was a participant in important strikes during the 1880’s. He was elected to Parliament in 1892, and he adopted positions of reformism and cooperation with the bourgeoisie. He was minister of local government (1905–14) and minister of trade (1914). He retired in August 1914 as a sign of his disagreement with the government’s decision to enter World War I. Burns later withdrew from political life.