Description: Anthony J Mundella (1823-1897) was born in Leicester, his father being Italian. After the usual education he became an assistant in a hosiery warehouse, and having been noticed by a Nottingham manufacturer for his attention to business and his capacity, at 23 he was offered a partnership which resulted in the formation of a company, and the building of large works in Station Street, Nottingham. With the development of the business came other interests, and he became an active member of the Town Council, and a captain of the Robin Hood Rifles. He strenuously promoted a system of arbitration and conciliation between employers and workers. He held office as an MP for Sheffield for 29 years. He was made a member of the Privy Council and became it's Vice President. As Minister of Education he established Higher Grade Schools. As President of the Board of Trade he established the Labour Department. As Fellow of the Royal Society, he showed his interest in science. The inscription on his tomb in Nottingham Church Cemetery reads: 'Loving knowledge for its own sake, he strove to diffuse it among his countrymen. He laboured for industrial peace, and the welfare of the children of the poor'. (information from 'Men of Nottingham & Nottinghamshire', by R Mellors)