John Joseph Curtin (1885-1945) was an Australian political leader who rose from trade union official and journalist to prime minister. His forthright approach to Australia's wartime difficulties and his rousing leadership gained him his countrymen's respect.

John Curtin was born in Creswick, Victoria, on Jan. 8, 1885. He attended public schools and at the age of 13 took a job in a Melbourne printery while continuing his studies. The oratory of Tom Mann, Britain's "new unionism" figure, deeply influenced Curtin during Mann's Australian sojourn from 1902 to 1908.

Attending the Labour party's "college" for speakers and running unsuccessfully for a parliamentary seat, Curtin gained skill in public speaking and insight into campaign methods. From 1911 he was a union secretary, and in 1916 he also became secretary of the Anti-Conscription League, which opposed the plans of Prime Minister William Morris Hughes to make overseas service compulsory. Charged with failure to enlist for military service, Curtin...