Ernest Emil Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe (9 October 1879 – 3 October 1960) was an industrialist and politician in the United Kingdom.
Born in Didsbury, Manchester, Simon was educated at Rugby School and at Pembroke College, Cambridge,[1] before entering the family's engineering business on the death of his father Henry Gustav Simon. He successfully expanded the company into building grain silos, and the wealth generated by the business allowed him to enter politics and to become a generous philanthropist.
He served as a member of Manchester City Council from 1912 to 1925, and as Lord Mayor of Manchester in 1921–1922. He is chiefly remembered for the slum clearances and housing projects he initiated in the city, notably the Wythenshawe estate.
Simon also sat as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington from 1923–24 and from 1929–1931, and was knighted in 1932. He joined the Labour Party in 1946, and in 1947 he was made a peer and appointed chairman of the BBC Board of governors.
In 1912 he married Shena Dorothy Potter (1883–1972), a noted social reformer. They had two sons, and a daughter who died in childhood. Their eldest son, Roger Simon, was a solicitor and one of the founders of CND; his younger brother was the educationist and historian Brian Simon.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Watts |
Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington 1923–1924 |
Succeeded by Thomas Watts |
| Preceded by Thomas Watts |
Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington 1929–1931 |
Succeeded by Edward Fleming |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Philip Inman |
Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors 1947–1952 |
Succeeded by Alexander Cadogan |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New constituency | Baron Simon of Wythenshawe 1947–1960 |
Succeeded by Roger Simon |