William Ewart Gladstone

03/12/186817/02/1874View on timeline
William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone (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 terms beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times.

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 which 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 Turkey's reaction to the Bulgarian April Uprising. His Midlothian Campaign of 1879–80 was an early example of many modern political campaigning techniques. 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. 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 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"). Historians often call him one of Britain's greatest leaders.


0 comments

Comment
No comments avaliable.

Author

Info

Published in 10/09/2020

Updated in 19/02/2021

All events in the topic U.K. - Prime Ministers:


03/04/172111/02/1742Robert WalpoleRobert Walpole
16/02/174202/07/1743Spencer ComptonSpencer Compton
27/08/174306/03/1754Henry PelhamHenry Pelham
16/03/175411/11/1756Thomas Pelham-HollesThomas Pelham-Holles
16/11/175629/06/1757William CavendishWilliam Cavendish
29/06/175726/05/1762Thomas Pelham-HollesThomas Pelham-Holles
26/05/176208/04/1763John StuartJohn Stuart
16/04/176310/07/1765George GrenvilleGeorge Grenville
13/07/176530/07/1766Charles Watson-WentworthCharles Watson-Wentworth
30/07/176614/10/1768William PittWilliam Pitt
14/10/176828/01/1770Augustus FitzRoyAugustus FitzRoy
28/01/177027/03/1782Frederick NorthFrederick North
27/03/178201/07/1782Charles Watson-WentworthCharles Watson-Wentworth
04/07/178226/03/1783William PettyWilliam Petty
02/04/178318/12/1783William Cavendish-BentinckWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck
19/12/178314/03/1801William PittWilliam Pitt
17/03/180110/05/1804Henry AddingtonHenry Addington
10/05/180423/01/1806William PittWilliam Pitt
11/02/180625/03/1807William GrenvilleWilliam Grenville
31/03/180704/10/1809William Cavendish-BentinckWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck
04/10/180911/05/1812Spencer PercevalSpencer Perceval
08/06/181209/04/1827Robert JenkinsonRobert Jenkinson
12/04/182708/08/1827George CanningGeorge Canning
31/08/182708/01/1828Frederick John RobinsonFrederick John Robinson
22/01/182816/11/1830Arthur WellesleyArthur Wellesley
22/11/183009/07/1834Charles GreyCharles Grey
16/07/183414/11/1834William LambWilliam Lamb
17/11/183409/12/1834Arthur WellesleyArthur Wellesley
10/12/183408/04/1835Robert PeelRobert Peel
18/04/183530/08/1841William LambWilliam Lamb
30/08/184129/06/1846Robert PeelRobert Peel
30/06/184621/02/1852John RussellJohn Russell
23/02/185217/12/1852Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
19/12/185230/01/1855George Hamilton-GordonGeorge Hamilton-Gordon
06/02/185519/02/1858Henry John TempleHenry John Temple
20/02/185811/06/1859Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
12/06/185918/10/1865Henry John TempleHenry John Temple
29/10/186526/06/1866John RussellJohn Russell
28/06/186625/02/1868Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
27/02/186801/12/1868Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli
03/12/186817/02/1874William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
20/02/187421/04/1880Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli
23/04/188009/06/1885William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
23/06/188528/01/1886Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
01/02/188620/07/1886William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
25/07/188611/08/1892Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
15/08/189202/03/1894William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
05/03/189422/06/1895Archibald PrimroseArchibald Primrose
25/06/189511/07/1902Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
12/07/190204/12/1905Arthur BalfourArthur Balfour
05/12/190503/04/1908Henry Campbell-BannermanHenry Campbell-Bannerman
08/04/190805/12/1916H. H. AsquithH. H. Asquith
06/12/191619/10/1922David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George
23/10/192220/05/1923Bonar LawBonar Law
22/05/192322/01/1924Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
22/01/192404/11/1924Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonald
04/11/192404/06/1929Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
05/06/192907/06/1935Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonald
07/06/193528/05/1937Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
28/05/193710/05/1940Neville ChamberlainNeville Chamberlain
10/05/194026/07/1945Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
26/07/194526/10/1951Clement AttleeClement Attlee
26/10/195105/04/1955Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
06/04/195509/01/1957Anthony EdenAnthony Eden
10/01/195718/10/1963Harold MacmillanHarold Macmillan
19/10/196316/10/1964Alec Douglas-HomeAlec Douglas-Home
16/10/196419/06/1970Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
19/06/197004/03/1974Edward HeathEdward Heath
04/03/197405/04/1976Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
05/04/197604/05/1979James CallaghanJames Callaghan
04/05/197928/11/1990Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
28/11/199002/05/1997John MajorJohn Major
02/05/199727/06/2007Tony BlairTony Blair
27/06/200711/05/2010Gordon BrownGordon Brown
11/05/201013/07/2016David CameronDavid Cameron
13/07/201624/07/2019Theresa MayTheresa May
04/07/201910/09/2020Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson