William Allan (English politician)

Not to be confused with William Allen (UK politician).

For other people named William Allan, see William Allan (disambiguation).

William Allan

File:William Allan, Vanity Fair, 1893-10-26.jpg

"The Gateshead Giant". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1893.

Sir William Allan, DL (1837 – 28 December 1903) was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for Gateshead from 1893 until his death in 1903. Sir William's professional career was as a steamship engineer in the early years of construction of these vessels and his business was the Scotia engineering works in Sunderland, England. He was also involved with a sea line, the Albyn Line, which bore the beginning letters of his surname. His early life included crew experience on steamships which were at one stage gun-running to America during the American Civil War, and he wrote of a number of dangerous escapades during this time.

His son, Walter Beattie Allan, published a book which was an illustrated account of his life, for his grandchildren. William Allan published a number of books of traditional Scottish poetry.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Allan
• Portraits of William Allan at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Walter Henry James	Member of Parliament for Gateshead 1893–1903	Succeeded by John Johnson