Mosley, Sir Oswald, 6th Baronet

Mosley, Sir Oswald (Ernald), 6th Baronet

(born Nov. 16, 1896, London, Eng.—died Dec. 3, 1980, Orsay, near Paris, France) English politician and fascist. He served in the House of Commons (1918–31) as, successively, a Conservative, an Independent, and a Labourite. After a visit to Italy, he founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932. With his followers, he distributed anti-Semitic propaganda, conducted hostile demonstrations in the Jewish sections of eastern London, and wore Nazi-style uniforms. During World War II he was interned (1940–43) with his wife, Diana Guinness, a sister of Jessica and Nancy Mitford and friend of Adolf Hitler. In 1948 Mosley founded the Union Movement, an amalgam of right-wing book clubs.