# Hamilton Kerr

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{{Short description|British Conservative Party politician and journalist (1903–1974)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{infobox officeholder
| name          = Sir Hamilton Kerr, Bt
| office        = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| term_start    = 1950
| term_end      = 1966
| predecessor   = [Arthur Symonds](/source/Arthur_Symonds)
| successor     = [Robert Davies](/source/Robert_Davies_(politician))
| office1       = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Oldham](/source/Oldham_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| alongside1    = [Anthony Crossley](/source/Anthony_Crossley) (1931–1935)<br />[John Dodd](/source/John_Dodd_(Liberal_politician)) (1935–1945)
| term_start1   = 1931
| term_end1     = 1945
| predecessor1  = [James Wilson](/source/James_Wilson_(UK_Labour_politician))<br />[Gordon Lang](/source/Gordon_Lang)
| successor1    = [Leslie Hale](/source/Leslie_Hale%2C_Baron_Hale)<br />[Frank Fairhurst](/source/Frank_Fairhurst)
| birth_name    = Hamilton William Kerr
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1903|08|01|df=yes}}
| birth_place   =
| death_date    = {{dda|1974|12|24|1903|08|01|df=yes}}
| death_place   =
| education     = [Eton College](/source/Eton_College)
| alma_mater    = [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford)
| party         = [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK))
| parents       = Henry S. Kerr<br />Olive Grace Kerr
| relations     = [Charles Greville, 3rd Baron Greville](/source/Charles_Greville%2C_3rd_Baron_Greville) (stepfather)
}}
'''Sir Hamilton William Kerr, 1st Baronet''' (1 August 1903 – 26 December 1974) was a British [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) politician and journalist.

==Early life==
Kerr was born on 1 August 1903.  He was second son born to Americans Olive ([née](/source/n%C3%A9e) Grace) Kerr and banker Henry Scanlan Kerr of [Long Island](/source/Long_Island).<ref name="1907Estate">{{cite news |title=Henry S. Kerr Left Over $1,000,000. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/11/26/106769499.pdf |accessdate=15 November 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=26 November 1907}}</ref> After his father's death, his mother remarried to [Charles Greville](/source/Charles_Greville%2C_3rd_Baron_Greville), shortly thereafter the 3rd [Baron Greville](/source/Baron_Greville).<ref name="1909Engagement"/> His older brother was Henry Grace Kerr,<ref name="1907Estate"/> who was killed in France during [World War I](/source/World_War_I).<ref name="LtKerr1917">{{cite news |title=Lieut. H.G. Kerr Killed in Action. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/07/07/96253652.pdf |accessdate=15 November 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=7 July 1917}}</ref> His paternal grandparents were William Henry Kerr and Harriet Ellen (née Scanlan) Kerr.  His mother was a niece of [Michael P. Grace](/source/Michael_P._Grace) and [Mayor](/source/Mayor_of_New_York_City) [William Russell Grace](/source/William_Russell_Grace), founder of [W. R. Grace and Company](/source/W._R._Grace_and_Company).<ref name="1909Engagement">{{cite news |title=MRS. HENRY S. KERR TO WED.; To Become the Bride of the Hon. Charles Greville on Nov. 24. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1909/10/27/101902373.pdf |accessdate=15 November 2019 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=27 October 1909}}</ref>

He was educated at [Eton](/source/Eton_College) and [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford).<ref name="Dod36">{{cite book|title=Dod's Parliamentary Companion for 1936|date=1936|publisher=P. S. King & Son Ltd|location=London|page=386}}</ref>

==Career==
After his graduation from Oxford, he then took up a career in journalism and worked on the ''[Daily Mail](/source/Daily_Mail)'' and the ''[Daily Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)''.<ref name="Dod36"/>

At the [1931 general election](/source/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election), he was elected as the [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for the [Oldham constituency](/source/Oldham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire). He held the seat until losing it to [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) at the [1945 general election](/source/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election). In the 1930s, Kerr served as [Parliamentary Private Secretary](/source/Parliamentary_Private_Secretary) to [Alfred Duff Cooper](/source/Duff_Cooper), starting in 1933 when Cooper was [Financial Secretary to the War Office](/source/Financial_Secretary_to_the_War_Office).<ref name="Dod36"/> During the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), he served in a balloon squadron in the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) and briefly held office as [Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health](/source/Parliamentary_Secretary_to_the_Ministry_of_Health) in [the 1945 caretaker government](/source/Churchill_caretaker_ministry).<ref name="Times 55">{{cite book|title=The Times House of Commons 1955|date=1955|publisher=The Times Office|location=London|page=70}}</ref>

At the [1950 general election](/source/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election), he was returned to the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) as the MP for [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge_(UK_Parliament_constituency)), holding that seat until his retirement at the [1966 general election](/source/1966_United_Kingdom_general_election). In 1954, Kerr was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the future [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom) [Harold Macmillan](/source/Harold_Macmillan).<ref name="Times 55"/>

Kerr was made a [Baronet](/source/Baronet), of Cambridge in the County of Cambridge, in 1957. The title became extinct upon his death in 1974.

==Legacy==
The [Hamilton Kerr Institute](/source/Hamilton_Kerr_Institute) was established in 1976 in the riverside property given to Cambridge University for the [Fitzwilliam Museum](/source/Fitzwilliam_Museum) and endowed by Sir Hamilton Kerr.<ref>[http://www-hki.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/introduction.html Hamilton Kerr Institute: History]{{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021004111711/http://www-hki.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/introduction.html|date=2002-10-04}}</ref> The HKI provides [art conservation](/source/art_conservation) services and training.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
*{{Rayment-bt|date=March 2012}}
*{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | sir-hamilton-kerr | Sir Hamilton Kerr }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title  = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Oldham](/source/Oldham_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| with   = [Anthony Crossley](/source/Anthony_Crossley), to 1935
| with2  = [John Dodd](/source/John_Dodd_(Liberal_politician)), (1935–1945)
| years  = [1931](/source/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election)–[1945](/source/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election)
| before = [James Wilson](/source/James_Wilson_(UK_Labour_politician))<br />[Gordon Lang](/source/Gordon_Lang)
| after  = [Leslie Hale](/source/Leslie_Hale%2C_Baron_Hale)<br />[Frank Fairhurst](/source/Frank_Fairhurst)
}}
{{succession box
| title  = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| years  = [1950](/source/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election)–[1966](/source/1966_United_Kingdom_general_election)
| before = [Arthur Symonds](/source/Arthur_Symonds)
| after  = [Robert Davies](/source/Robert_Davies_(politician))
}}
{{s-reg|uk-bt}}
{{s-new | creation }}
{{s-ttl
  | title  = [Baronet](/source/Kerr_baronets)<br />'''(of Cambridge)'''
  | years  = 1957–1974
}}
{{s-non | reason = Extinct }}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Hamilton William}}
Category:1903 births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945
Category:People educated at Eton College
Category:Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Category:UK MPs 1931–1935
Category:UK MPs 1935–1945
Category:UK MPs 1950–1951
Category:UK MPs 1951–1955
Category:UK MPs 1955–1959
Category:UK MPs 1959–1964
Category:UK MPs 1964–1966

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hamilton Kerr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Kerr) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Kerr?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.