Thomas Macnamara

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Thomas James Macnamara (23 August 1861 – 3 December 1931) was a British teacher, education reformer and Liberal politician. Born in Montreal, Canada, his family moved to Britain in 1869. He trained as a teacher and worked in Exeter, Huddersfield and Bristol, where he became editor of The Schoolmaster. He also served as chairman of the London School Board and in 1896 became president of the National Union of Teachers.

In 1900 he was elected Member of Parliament for Camberwell North, a seat he held until 1918, and then represented Camberwell North West until 1924. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board (1907–1908) and as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty (1908–1920). He was sworn into the Privy Council in 1911.

In March 1920, David Lloyd George appointed him Minister of Labour; he remained in that post until October 1922 when the government fell.

Macnamara died on 3 December 1931 at the age of 70 from prostate cancer.

He married Rachel Cameron in 1886, and they had four children. One daughter, Elsie Cameron Macnamara, married Thomas Elias in 1913; she later stood for Parliament as a Liberal candidate in 1924.