biography
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1811–89)
|
| biography:
| Radical British statesman and orator, born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, NW England, UK. When the Anti Corn-Law League was formed in 1839 he was a leading member, and engaged in free trade agitation throughout the country. In 1843 he became MP for Durham, and strongly opposed the corn laws until they were repealed (1846). Elected in 1857 for Birmingham, his name was closely associated with the Reform Act of 1867. He accepted office as President of the Board of Trade (1868), but retired through illness in 1870, returning in 1881 as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was regarded as one of the most eloquent speakers of his time. |
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