Chris Watson

Common card · No. 397437

John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 1867 – 18 November 1941) was the third prime minister of Australia, serving from April to August 1904. He held office as the inaugural federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1901 to 1907 and was the first member of the party to serve as prime minister. Watson was born in Valparaíso, Chile, the son of a German Chilean seaman. He grew up on the South Island of New Zealand, taking the surname of his step-father when his Irish-born mother remarried. He left school at a young age, working in the printing industry as a compositor. Watson moved to Sydney in 1886 and became prominent in the local labour movement. He helped establish the Labor Electoral League of New South Wales and directed the party's campaign at the 1891 general election. Watson was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at the 1894 election, aged 27, and quickly became a leading figure in the ALP. He and most party members opposed Federation...

Read on Wikipedia · Image National Library of Australia, Public domain