William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate

The Viscount Stansgate
Secretary of State for India
In office
7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Preceded byThe Viscount Peel
Succeeded bySir Samuel Hoare, Bt
Secretary of State for Air
In office
3 August 1945 – 4 October 1946
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterClement Attlee
Preceded byHarold Macmillan
Succeeded byPhilip Noel-Baker
Parliamentary offices
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
20 January 1942 – 17 November 1960
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded byAnthony Wedgwood Benn
Member of Parliament
for Manchester Gorton
In office
18 February 1937 – 20 January 1942
Preceded byJoseph Compton
Succeeded byWilliam Oldfield
Member of Parliament
for Aberdeen North
In office
16 August 1928 – 7 October 1931
Preceded byFrank Rose
Succeeded byJohn George Burnett
Member of Parliament
for Leith
In office
14 December 1918 – 15 February 1927
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byErnest Brown
Member of Parliament
for St George
In office
8 February 1906 – 25 November 1918
Preceded byThomas Dewar
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1877-05-10)10 May 1877
Hackney, London, England
Died17 November 1960(1960-11-17) (aged 83)
Westminster, London, England
Political partyLiberal (until 1927)
Labour (from 1927)
Spouse
(m. 1920)
Children4, including Tony Benn
Parent(s)Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet
Elizabeth Pickstone
Alma materUniversity College, London
AwardsDSO (1917)
DFC (1918)
Bronze Medal of Military Valor (Italy; 1918)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service Royal Navy
 British Army
 Royal Air Force
Years of service1914–1918, 1940–1945
RankAir Commodore
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War

William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate, DSO, DFC, PC (10 May 1877 – 17 November 1960) was a British Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party. A decorated Royal Air Force officer, he was Secretary of State for India between 1929 and 1931 and Secretary of State for Air between 1945 and 1946. He was the father of Tony Benn and the paternal grandfather of Hilary Benn.