William Harbutt Dawson

William Harbutt Dawson (27 July 1860 – 7 March 1948) was a British journalist, civil servant and author, and an acknowledged expert on German politics and society.

Career

Dawson's first job was on the Craven Pioneer, a Liberal newspaper founded by his father and based at Skipton in Craven, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire. (The paper, after several changes of title and a merger with its Conservative rival, is now the Craven Herald & Pioneer.) Dawson went to Germany to complete his journalistic training, and later enrolled at Berlin University. He became interested in the welfare state that was being pioneered in Bismarck's Germany.

In 1888, following the death of his father, he returned to Skipton to succeed him as editor of the Pioneer. He also wrote articles for various other journals, as well as books, principally on Germany and its social policy. Dawson was therefore a natural choice to advise the Liberal government on setting up a social welfare system for the United Kingdom. He was hired by the Board of Trade, which was then under Lloyd George, initially on a temporary basis in 1909 and later for a permanent post. He consulted particularly with Emil Münsterberg, a leading German expert who advised several foreign governments on social security issues. Labour exchanges, pensions and national insurance were among the matters where Dawson contributed to government legislation.

During his time as a civil servant, Dawson published further important books on Germany. He served in the British delegation to the Versailles peace conference after World War I.