William Mitchell Acworth

Sir William Mitchell Acworth KCSI (22 November 1850 – 2 April 1925) was a British railway economist, barrister and politician.

Early life and background The third son of the Reverend William Acworth of the Hall, South Stoke, near Bath, Somerset, and Margaret née Dundas, he was born at Rothley, Leicestershire, where his father was vicar in 1850. He served only one term, standing down at the next council elections in 1892. In 1890 he was called to the bar at the Inner Temple. the Vice-Regal Commission on Irish Railways (1906), the Royal Commission of Enquiry into Canadian Railways (1916), the Royal Commission on South Rhodesian Railways (1918). He was also appointed a director of the Underground Electric Railways of London and of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway. The report of the committee, known as the "Acworth Report", led to reorganisation of railways, and the creation of a separate Railway Budget, an arrangement which is absent in British India. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Star of India in 1922. In 1923 he prepared a report on Austrian railways for the League of Nations.