About J. D. White
Lived 1866 – 1951 (aged 84). J. D. White was a British politician.
James Dundas White (10 July 1866 – 30 April 1951), known as J. D. White, was a Scottish Liberal Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) from 1906 to 1918, with a short break in 1911.
Background White was the nephew of Lord Overtoun. Born in Rutherglen, his family operated the J&J White Chemicals factory in the town. He was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1891.
Politics He was elected at the 1906 general election as Liberal MP for Dunbartonshire.
He was re-elected in January 1910. Election box begin | title=General election January 1910: Dunbartonshire He returned to the House of Commons seven months later, when he was elected at the 1911 Glasgow Tradeston by-election.
He was one of a group of radical Liberal MPs called the Single Taxers, who favoured land reform. They had some success in persuading Liberal Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George who integrated some of their views into his 1913-14 land campaign. White favoured the introduction of Land value taxation and wrote extensively on the subject. In 1912 when Thomas McKinnon Wood took over as Secretary of State for Scotland, White continued as his PPS. He remained as PPS to McKinnon Wood in his other roles until he left office in 1916. He was Chairman of one and member of several other Departmental Committees during the European War. At the general election in 1918, White did not receive the Coalition Coupon and was defeated by a Unionist supporter of Lloyd George's coalition government.
In 1919 along with a number of other Single Taxers, he left the Liberal Party and joined the Independent Labour Party. He did not contest the 1922 General election. At the 1923 General Election he contested Middlesbrough West.
At the 1924 General Election he contested Glasgow Central.
In 1926 he became disillusioned with the failure of the Labour Party to commit to land reform and resigned as a member. He did not contested any further parliamentary elections.
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Important facts
People in J. D. White's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped J. D. White's
Frequently asked questions
Who was J. D. White?
British politician (1866-1951)
When was J. D. White born?
J. D. White was born on 10 July 1866.
When did J. D. White die?
J. D. White died on 30 April 1951.
What was J. D. White's occupation?
J. D. White was a politician.
What nationality was J. D. White?
J. D. White was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). J. D. White. https://biography.guide/j-d-white/
MLA: "J. D. White." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/j-d-white/.
Chicago: "J. D. White." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/j-d-white/.
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