Biography

Harold Wilson

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Born
March 11, 1916 · Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK
Died
May 24, 1995 · Lambeth, London, England, UK (Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer)
Birth name
James Harold Wilson
Nicknames
- Wislon
- Gannex Wilson
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Harold Wilson was born in Huddersfield,West Yorkshire in 1916. He had a sharp mind and after graduating from Oxford University, he became a lecturer in economics in 1937. He represented Huyton in parliament from 1945 until his retirement in 1983. He became President of the Board of Trade in 1947 and succeeded Hugh Gaitskell as the Labour party leader in 1963. He defeated Sir Alec Douglas-Home in the 1964 General Election with an overall majority of four. He was re-elected in 1966 and after a period in opposition between 1970 and 1974, he returned after the February election. He was re-elected for a fourth term in October 1974, but resigned unexpectedly on his 60th birthday in 1976. He was created a Knight of the Garter by HM The Queen and he received a life peerage in 1983, becoming Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. Following a long illness, he died in May 1995 aged 79, leaving a widow Mary.
- IMDb mini biography by: Huw Nathan

He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970, and again from 1974 to 1976. He was the third Labour leader to become prime minister (after Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee). He is one of only three Labour leaders (the others being Clement Attlee and Tony Blair) to win a general election since the Second World War (the other two post-war Labour prime ministers, James Callaghan and Gordon Brown, only lost general elections).
He became a Member of Parliament in 1945, elected as part of Clement Attlee's landslide victory as Labour leader.
He became a Labour peer in the House of Lords in 1983.
He studied at Jesus College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics and became a lecturer in Economics in 1937.
He is buried on the Scilly Isles, off the south west coast of England. He spent many holidays there whilst Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

A week is a long time in politics.
Everybody should have an equal chance - but they shouldn't have a flying start.
One man's wage increase is another man's price increase.
The main essentials of a successful prime minister are sleep and a sense of history.
I get a little nauseated, perhaps, when I hear the phrase 'freedom of the press' used as freely as it is, knowing that a large part of our proprietorial press is not free at all.

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