Jimmy Briggs

James Dominic Francis Briggs (1 September 1868 – 6 April 1951), nicknamed "Labour's Briggs" , was an Australian-born South African politician and trade unionist. He served as a senator.

Life and career Born in Parramatta in New South Wales, Briggs moved with his family to Bolton in England when he was ten years old. There, he completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and joined the Manchester Unity of Bricklayers trade union.

In 1890, Briggs emigrated to the United States, where he joined the Bricklayers' and Masons' International Union, working in various locations across the country, and also in Canada. In 1902, he emigrated again, to Durban in South Africa. There, he joined the Durban Bricklayers' Society, but soon moved to Pretoria, where he helped found the Operative Bricklayers' Society of South Africa. For five years, he served as chairman of the union. He also chaired the Pretoria Trades Council. serving until his resignation in 1938 to contest the 1938 election for Jeppes, but was unsuccessful.