William Ewart Gladstone (December 29, 1809 in Liverpool - May 19, 1898 in Hawarden, Flintshire) was a British politician, who served as Prime Minister.
Appointed Prime Minister several times (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886 and 1892-1894), he was a long-time opponent of Benjamin Disraeli. Through their political opposition, however, they have jointly worked to make the United Kingdom an accomplished parliamentary democracy, based on political alternation.
First conservative, then liberal, he introduced several reforms. Yet he failed with the law that was to guarantee self-governing Ireland. The First Boer War (1880-1881) took place under one of his mandates.
William Ewart Gladstone became a Fellow of the Royal Society on January 13, 1881.
Youth (1809–1832)
Born in 1809 in Liverpool, of Scottish descent, William Ewart Gladstone was the fourth son of merchant Sir John Gladstone of Leith and his second wife, Anne MacKenzie Robertson, of Dingwall, Ross-shire. he was brought up in a politicized environment:one of his oldest childhood memories is, in 1812, on the occasion of a political meeting in favor of George Canning, of having been carried to a table from which he would have hailed the crowd a "Ladies and gentlemen". From 1816 to 1821 he attended the primary school of the parish of St Thomas's Church in Seaforth [ref. wished], then in 1821, like his brother Eton College, then from 1828, in Oxford, where he followed classical studies and mathematics courses (without much interest). There he took the presidency of the Oxford Union debating society, where he made a lasting reputation as a speaker and became involved with the Tory (opposed to the liberals).
After his first diplomas, he made a Grand Tour of Europe with his brother John (Belgium, France, Italy, Germany).
Debut in politics
Upon his return, he was elected in 1832 as Tory Conservative for Newark. Registered at the bar, he does not plead there, and is also struck off. At first very conservative (he was linked to a Tory faction which opposed both the abolition of slavery and the first social laws, he was linked to the treasury under the first ministry of Robert Peel and then in 1835 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.He became more liberal.In 1846 he supported the repeal of the Corn Laws, which led to the split in the Conservative camp.Gladstone was thus a supporter of Peel's policy and was no longer part of the body of the Conservative Party.In 1859, Peel supporters united with Whigs and Radicals to form the Liberal Party which dominated British political life for much of the period up to 1915 .
As a proponent of the continuation of Peel's policy, Gladstone served in Lord Aberdeen's government as Chancellor and was noted for his effectiveness in this post. When this government fell in 1855, it refused to take part in the governments of Lord Derby or Lord Palmerston, a Whig, and stood in opposition.
In 1858 he published a study in three volumes on Homer, his work and his time:Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age.
In 1859, however, when Palmerston succeeded Derby's second, brief government, Gladstone accepted the chancellorship and held a position of great influence. At this time he opposed Palmerston's aggressive foreign policy and supported the idea of further electoral reform, earning him the nickname "The People's William". He was also noted for his support of classical liberalism and his opposition to socialism.
Prime Minister
When he was Prime Minister, the Anglican Church lost a significant part of its privileges in Ireland, the vote by secret ballot was introduced and Great Britain held back during the Franco-Prussian War. After his electoral failure in 1874, Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal party, however, he returned in 1876 on the occasion of a campaign opposing the atrocities committed in Bulgaria by Turkey. The Midlothian campaign (near Edinburgh) of 1879-1880 owes much to Gladstone. It is sometimes considered the birth certificate of modern political campaigning techniques. Although he was not the official leader of the Liberal party when it won the general election of 1880, he was nevertheless reappointed prime minister. During his second ministry, his cabinet had to deal with crises in Egypt (culminating with the death of General Gordon in 1885), in Ireland, where the government passed repressive measures and with the birth of a combative trade unionism. This government was at the origin of the third reform of the right to vote in 1884. On this occasion, parliamentarians proposed to add an amendment granting the right to vote to women. Indeed, since 1866 and the presentation by Stuart Mill of an important petition for women's suffrage, this subject was an important point of political debate. Gladstone however refused the addition of this amendment and to explain his decision used a metaphor:"the cargo which this ship carries is in our opinion sufficient to make the transport safe". Lord Salisbury defeated Gladstone's government in the ensuing election and formed a Conservative government in 1885, but the following election, held a few months later, saw the Liberals win. Back in business at the beginning of 1886, Gladstone wanted to pass a law in favor of a wide autonomy for Ireland because he believed that this was the only way to solve the problem posed by the growing unrest. more acute affecting Ireland. However, this law was rejected by the House of Commons in July and Salisbury returned to Downing Street to demand a new election, which he won. In 1892, Gladstone formed his last government at the age of 82. The Home Rule Act was again introduced and defeated by the Lords in 1893, ending Gladstone's scheme. The liberal party moved closer to the left and adopted measures in favor of the welfare state while containing its imperialist wing. Gladstone resigned in March 1894 because of his opposition to increased military naval expenditure and was succeeded by his foreign secretary, Lord Rosebery. He left parliament in 1895 and died three years later at the age of 88.
Gladstone is known for its intense rivalry with Conservative Party leader Benjamin Disraeli. The rivalry was both political and personal. When Disraeli died, Gladstone offered to hold a state funeral, but Disraeli's wishes to be buried with his wife prompted Gladstone to reply, "As Disraeli lived, so he died — all display, without reality or genuineness." (“Disraeli died as he lived. All show, without reality or authenticity”). Gladstone is also known for not having had a good relationship with Queen Victoria, who once complained:"He always addresses me as if I were a public meeting". (“He always addresses me as if I were a congregation”).
Gladstone supporters called him "The People's William" or the "G.O.M." (“Grand Old Man”) that Disraeli liked to disguise as “God’s Only Mistake”. Winston Churchill is one of those who put Gladstone among their inspirations.
In popular culture
Jonathan Stroud, in his fantasy cycle The Bartimaeus Trilogy, takes up Gladstone and presents him as a famous magician who used his powers to rule England at the time.