The Right Honourable The Viscount Davidson GCVO CH CB PC |
|
---|---|
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
In office 25 May 1923 – 22 January 1924 |
|
Monarch | George V |
Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
Preceded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
Succeeded by | Josiah Wedgwood |
In office 10 November 1931 – 28 May 1937 |
|
Monarch |
George V Edward VIII George VI |
Prime Minister |
Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin |
Preceded by | The Marquess of Lothian |
Succeeded by | The Earl Winterton |
Personal details | |
Born | 23 February 1889 |
Died | 11 December 1970 |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Hon. Frances Dickinson (1894–1985) |
Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
John Colin Campbell Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson GCVO CH CB PC (23 February 1889 – 11 December 1970), known before his elevation to the peerage as J. C. C. Davidson, was a British civil servant and Conservative Party politician, best known for his close alliance with Stanley Baldwin. Initially a civil servant, Davidson was private secretary to Bonar Law between 1915 and 1920. After entering parliament in 1920, he served under Baldwin as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1923 and 1924 and as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty between 1924 and 1926. From 1926 to 1930 he was Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was once again Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1931 and 1937, firstly under Ramsay MacDonald and from 1935 onwards under Baldwin. On Baldwin's retirement in 1937, Davidson left the House of Commons and was ennobled as Viscount Davidson. Despite being only 48, he never took any further active part in politics. His wife Frances, Viscountess Davidson, succeeded him as MP for Hemel Hempstead. Lord Davidson died in London in 1970.
Davidson was born at Aberdeen, the younger child and only son of Sir James Mackenzie Davidson, a physician and pioneer of X-rays, by Georgina Barbara Watt Henderson, daughter of William Henderson, of Aberdeen. His grandfather John Davidson had accumulated a large fortune in Argentina, of which Davidson inherited a half. He was educated at Fretherne House preparatory school, Westminster and Pembroke College, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1913.