William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone
Gladstone in 1892
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
15 August 1892 – 2 March 1894
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded byThe Earl of Rosebery
In office
1 February 1886 – 21 July 1886
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
Succeeded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
In office
23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byBenjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield
Succeeded byThe Marquess of Salisbury
In office
3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byBenjamin Disraeli
Succeeded byBenjamin Disraeli
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
28 April 1880 – 16 December 1882
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byStafford Northcote
Succeeded byHugh Childers
In office
11 August 1873 – 17 February 1874
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byRobert Lowe
Succeeded byStafford Northcote
In office
18 June 1859 – 26 June 1866
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
The Earl Russell
Preceded byBenjamin Disraeli
Succeeded byBenjamin Disraeli
In office
28 December 1852 – 28 February 1855
Prime MinisterThe Earl of Aberdeen
Preceded byBenjamin Disraeli
Succeeded byGeorge Cornewall Lewis
Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands
In office
25 January 1859 – 17 February 1859
MonarchVictoria
Preceded bySir John Young
Succeeded bySir Henry Knight Storks
Additional positions
Personal details
Born(1809-12-29)29 December 1809
62 Rodney Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Died19 May 1898(1898-05-19) (aged 88)
Hawarden Castle, Flintshire, Wales
Resting placeWestminster Abbey
Political partyLiberal (1859–1898)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
(m. 1839)
Children8; including William, Helen, Henry and Herbert
Parents
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford
Cabinet
SignatureCursive signature in ink

William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS (/ˈɡlædstən/ GLAD-stən; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-consecutive terms (the most of any British prime minister) beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times, for over 12 years.

Gladstone was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents. He first entered the House of Commons in 1832, beginning his political career as a High Tory, a grouping that became the Conservative Party under Robert Peel in 1834. Gladstone served as a minister in both of Peel's governments, and in 1846 joined the breakaway Peelite faction, which eventually merged into the new Liberal Party in 1859. He was chancellor under Lord Aberdeen (1852–1855), Lord Palmerston (1859–1865) and Lord Russell (1865–1866). Gladstone's own political doctrine—which emphasised equality of opportunity and opposition to trade protectionism—came to be known as Gladstonian liberalism. His popularity amongst the working-class earned him the sobriquet "The People's William".

In 1868, Gladstone became prime minister for the first time. Many reforms were passed during his first ministry, including the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland and the introduction of secret voting. After electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal Party. From 1876 he began a comeback based on opposition to the Ottoman Empire's reaction to the Bulgarian April Uprising. His Midlothian Campaign of 1879–1880 was an early example of many modern political campaigning techniques.[1][2] After the 1880 general election, Gladstone formed his second ministry (1880–1885), which saw the passage of the Third Reform Act as well as crises in Egypt (culminating in the Fall of Khartoum) and Ireland, where his government passed repressive measures but also improved the legal rights of Irish tenant farmers.

Back in office in early 1886, Gladstone proposed home rule for Ireland but was defeated in the House of Commons. The resulting split in the Liberal Party helped keep them out of office—with one short break—for 20 years. Gladstone formed his last government in 1892, at the age of 82. The Government of Ireland Bill 1893 passed through the Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords in 1893, after which Irish Home Rule became a lesser part of his party's agenda. Gladstone left office in March 1894, aged 84, as both the oldest person to serve as prime minister and the only prime minister to have served four non-consecutive terms. He left Parliament in 1895 and died three years later.

Gladstone was known affectionately by his supporters as "The People's William" or the "G.O.M." ("Grand Old Man", or, to political rivals "God's Only Mistake").[3] Historians often rank Gladstone as one of the greatest prime ministers in British history.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E.; Evans, Andrew D.; Wheeler, William Bruce; Ruff, Julius (2014). Discovering the Western Past, Volume II: Since 1500. Cengage Learning. p. 336. ISBN 978-1111837174. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  2. ^ Price, Richard (1999). British Society 1680–1880: Dynamism, Containment and Change. Cambridge University Press. p. 289. ISBN 978-0521657013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. ^ Gardham, Duncan (12 June 2008). "David Davis's Victorian inspiration: William Gladstone". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ J.F.C. Harrison (2013). Late Victorian Britain 1875–1901. Routledge. p. 31. ISBN 978-1136116445. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. ^ Richard Aldous (2007). The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone Vs Disraeli. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 4. ISBN 978-0393065701. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. ^ Paul Brighton (2016). Original Spin: Downing Street and the Press in Victorian Britain. I.B.Tauris. p. 193. ISBN 978-1780760599. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  7. ^ Paul Grey; et al. (2016). Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c. 1851–1964. Cambridge UP. p. 2. ISBN 978-1107572966. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

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