The four-time election-winning Prime Minister who founded the Open University and opened higher learning to all.
Harold Wilson was born at Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 11 March 1916. He won a scholarship to Oxford, took a brilliant first in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and lectured in economic history before serving as a statistician and civil servant during the Second World War. Elected to Parliament in 1945, he became President of the Board of Trade at thirty-one, one of the youngest Cabinet ministers of the century.
He became leader of the Labour Party in 1963 and Prime Minister in 1964, an office he won at four general elections and held across two periods, from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976. He framed the modernisation of Britain around what he called the white heat of the technological revolution.
His lasting monument is the Open University, founded under his government in 1969, which opened degree-level study to adults of any background without entry qualifications and has since taught more than two million students. He regarded it as the achievement of which he was proudest.
His governments expanded comprehensive education and the university system, established the Ministry of Technology, and kept the United Kingdom out of the Vietnam War despite considerable pressure to commit forces. He was created Baron Wilson of Rievaulx on his retirement and appointed a Knight of the Garter.
The Wilson name is a northern patronymic, the son of Will, of William. Harold Wilson carried it to four election victories and used the office to widen the door of learning for everyone who came after.
Achievements
·Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976
·Won four of the five general elections he contested as leader
·Founded the Open University, 1969
·Kept the United Kingdom out of the Vietnam War
·Knight of the Garter, 1976
Frequently asked
What is Harold Wilson famous for?
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The four-time election-winning Prime Minister who founded the Open University and opened higher learning to all. Harold Wilson was born at Huddersfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 11 March 1916.
When was Harold Wilson born?
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Harold Wilson was born in 1916 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. The full biographical record sits on the dedicated page on Clan Rising, set alongside the wider history of the Wilson family.
When did Harold Wilson die?
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Harold Wilson died in 1995. That gave a lifespan of about 79 years.
How long did Harold Wilson live?
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Harold Wilson lived for around 79 years, from in 1916 to in 1995. The page records the substantive years in full, with the achievements and the geography that frame the life.
Where was Harold Wilson born?
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Harold Wilson was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in Scotland. The atlas links the birthplace to its tile page so the surrounding geography and other families of the area can be explored from the same record.
What is Harold Wilson's connection to the Wilson family?
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Harold Wilson is recorded on Clan Rising as a Wilson Family Champion, a figure whose life is inseparable from the surname. The Wilson family page sets the wider context for the name and links through to every other notable bearer.
What did Harold Wilson achieve?
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Headline achievements recorded for Harold Wilson include Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976, Won four of the five general elections he contested as leader, Founded the Open University, 1969 and Kept the United Kingdom out of the Vietnam War. The full list and the surrounding biographical record sit on the dedicated champion page.
Was Harold Wilson a Wilson?
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Yes. Harold Wilson is filed on Clan Rising under the Wilson family. The naming convention follows the surname a diaspora reader would search for today; titles, particles and pen names sort under that same canonical surname.