William Adamson (1863–1936) was born in Dunfermline, Scotland and worked as a miner in Fife where he became involved with the National Union of Mineworkers. Active with the new Labour Party he was first elected to Parliament in 1910 and became leader of the party in 1917, a position he held until 1921. Adamson served as Secretary of State for Scotland in the Labour governments of Ramsay MacDonald, splitting with MacDonald when he formed the National Government. Adamson lost his seat in the 1931 election which he contested for Labour against MacDonald's coalition.