James Shaw Maxwell

Who was James Shaw Maxwell?

James Shaw Maxwell, known as Shaw Maxwell, was a Scottish socialist activist.

Born in Glasgow, Maxwell joined the Liberal Party and worked as a lithographer and journalist. He left the Liberals in 1880 in opposition to their local opposition to Irish nationalism, and became a leading supporter of Henry George and an activist in the Scottish Land Restoration League.

Maxwell stood unsuccessfully for Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown at the 1885 UK general election. In 1888, he attended the founding meeting of the Scottish Labour Party and was appointed as the first chairman of its executive. Along with most of the organisation's members, he joined the Independent Labour Party on its formation in 1893, and served as its first Secretary. He stood again in Blackfriars and Hutchesontown at the 1895 UK general election, this time for the ILP, and again without success. However, he did manage to get elected to Glasgow City Council in 1896. He led a successful campaign for free libraries in the city, and for the opening of museums and art galleries on Sundays, to increase the number of workers able to attend.