File:ChrisWatsonSepia_crop.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Chris Watson
Sign in to saveAlso known as The Honourable John Christian Watson, John Christian Watson, John Christian Tanck
Australian politician, third Prime Minister of Australia (1867-1941)
Key facts
- Monarch
- Edward VII
- Governor general
- Lord Northcote
- Preceded by
- Alfred Deakin
- Succeeded by
- George Reid
- Prime minister
- Himself
- Deputy
- Gregor McGregor
- Born
- Johan Cristian Tanck , 9 April 1867, Valparaíso , Chile
- Died
- 18 November 1941 (1941-11-18) (aged 74), Double Bay , New South Wales , Australia
- Party
- Nationalist (1917–1922) National Labor (1916–1917) Labor (1901–1916) Labour Electoral League (1891–1901)
- Spouses
- Ada Low ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1889 ; died 1921 ) Antonia Dowlan ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1925 )
- Education
- Weston School
- Occupation
- Petroleum company director ( Australian Motorists Petrol Co Ltd ) Trade union print company director (Labor Papers Ltd) Trade union executive ( Sydney Trades and Labor Council )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- John
- Family name
- Watson
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Chile
- Place of birth
- Valparaíso
- Place of death
- Sydney
- Occupation
- trade unionist
- Political party
- Australian Labor Party
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Unitarianism
- Image
- J. C. Watson - T. Humphrey & Co (cropped).jpg
- Work location
- Canberra
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Chris Watson
- date of birth
- 1867-04-09
- date of death
- 1941-11-18
- birth name
- John Christian Tanck
- name in native language
- John Christian Watson
- writing language
- English language
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~24 min read
Encyclopedic overview
John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 1867 – 18 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia from April to August 1904. He held office as the inaugural federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1901 to 1907 and was the first member of the party to serve as prime minister.
Watson was born in Valparaíso, Chile, the son of a German Chilean seaman. He grew up on the South Island of New Zealand, taking the surname of his step-father when his Irish-born mother remarried. He left school at a young age, working in the printing industry as a compositor. Watson moved to Sydney in 1886 and became prominent in the local labour movement. He helped establish the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales and directed the party's campaign at the 1891 general election. Watson was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at the 1894 election, aged 27, and quickly became a leading figure in the ALP. He and most party members opposed Federation on the grounds that the proposed constitution was undemocratic.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chris Watson” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.