Jim Brigden
{{Short description|Australian public servant}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Jim Brigden
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| office1 = Secretary of the Department of Supply and Development
| term_start1 = 29 August 1939
| term_end1 = 8 April 1941
| office2 = Secretary of the Department of Munitions
| term_start2 = 11 June 1940
| term_end2 = 31 December 1941
| birth_name = James Bristock Brigden
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|07|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Maldon, Victoria, Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1950|10|12|1887|07|20|df=y}}
| death_place = Mitcham, Victoria, Australia
| occupation = Public servant
| nationality = Australian
}}
James Bristock Brigden (20 July 1887{{spaced endash}}12 October 1950) was a senior Australian public servant, heading Australian Government Departments during World War II.
Life and career
Brigden was born in Maldon, Victoria on 20 July 1887.{{citation|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/lifesummary/brigden-james-bristock-jim-5358|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|title=Life Summary: Brigden, James Bristock (1887–1950)|publisher=Australian National University|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007100641/http://adb.anu.edu.au/lifesummary/brigden-james-bristock-jim-5358|archivedate=7 October 2014|url-status=live}} He attended school in Victoria, but left at age 16 with a job as a cabin-boy on a ship to England.{{citation|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brigden-james-bristock-jim-5358|title=Brigden, James Bristock (Jim) (1887–1950)|first=Roland|last=Wilson|author-link=Roland Wilson (economist)|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Australian National University|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414134050/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brigden-james-bristock-jim-5358|archivedate=14 April 2014|url-status=live}}
In 1915 Brigden enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a private. He was wounded in France.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25779947|title=Prof. Brigden: Appointed to Dept. Of Supply|newspaper=The Mercury|location=Hobart, Tasmania|date=22 November 1939|page=2}}
After the First World War Brigden moved to Tasmania, where he was appointed as a tutor to Workers' Educational Association classes at Queenstown, in the state's west.{{cite journal|journal=Journal of Australian Studies|title='The best and most practical mind': J. B. Brigden as educator and economist, 1921–30|first=Michael|last=Roe|date=1991|volume=15|issue=30|doi=10.1080/14443059109387066|pages=72–84}} He went on to become the Professor of Economics at University of Tasmania, staying in the position until his resignation in June 1929.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35738056|title=Professor Brigden|date=11 June 1929|page=15|newspaper=The Advertiser|location=Adelaide, South Australia}}
In 1935 Brigden was appointed Queensland government statistician. In 1938, he was appointed chairman of the National Insurance Commission,{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11285728|title=Mr. J. B. Brigden appointed: Supply Secretary|page=9|newspaper=The Argus|location=Melbourne, Victoria|date=22 November 1939}} responsible for health insurance and pensions and benefits functions.{{citation|title=CA 1337: National Insurance Commission|url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CA+1337|publisher=National Archives of Australia|accessdate=5 September 2015}} In May 1939, then Health Minister Frederick Stewart announced that Brigden would be appointed to devote some of his time as an advisor to the new Department of Supply and Development, but was to retain his Insurance Commission Chairmanship. When the National Insurance Plan collapsed, he also became Secretary of the Department of Social Services, which lost much of its momentum at the outbreak of World War II.
His appointment as Secretary of the Department of Supply and Development was announced in November 1939.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71360637|title=Mr. Brigden's new post|date=28 November 1939|newspaper=Worker|location=Brisbane, Queensland|page=18}}
Brigden was diagnosed with dangerous blood pressure in 1947 and invalidated out of the public service that year.{{cite journal|first=Roland|last=Wilson|date=June 1951|volume=27|issue=1–2|journal=Economic Record|title=James Bristock Brigden: A Tribute|pages=1–10 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4932.1951.tb02832.x}} He died in Mitcham, Melbourne on 12 October 1950.
References
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{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-new|reason=Department established}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of the Department of Social Services|years=1939 – 1941}}
{{s-aft|after=Frank Rowe}}
{{s-bef|before=Daniel McVey}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of the Department of Supply and Development|years=1939 – 1941}}
{{s-aft|after=Arthur Smith}}
{{s-bef|before=Himself|as=Secretary of the Department of Supply and Development}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of the Department of Munitions|years=1940 – 1941}}
{{s-aft|after=John Jensen}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigden, Jim}}
Category:Australian public servants
Category:Military personnel from Victoria (state)
Category:Australian military personnel of World War I
Category:Academic staff of the University of Tasmania
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