Harold Wilson was born in Huddersfield in 1916 and was educated at Oxford University. He was a member of the Labour Party, and was selected as the parliamentary candidate for Ormskirk. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 1945 General Election and became Prime Minister in 1963. His government brought an end to capital punishment, reformed the divorce laws and legalized abortion and homosexuality. By the end of the 1960s, with unemployment and inflation increasing, Wilson's popularity declined and the Conservative Party, led by Edward Heath, won the 1970 General Election. He returned to power in 1974 but a split in the party over a referendum over the European Economic Community and in 1976 he resigned from the post. Wilson was knighted in 1976 and was created Baron of Rievaulx in 1983. Harold Wilson died in 1995.