biography
| name: |
Gladstone, W(illiam) E(wart)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1809–98)
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| biography:
| British statesman and prime minister (1868–74, 1880–5, 1886, 1892–4), born in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and entered parliament in 1832 as a Conservative, working closely with Peel. From 1834 he held various junior posts, becoming President of the Board of Trade (1843–5). A firm supporter of free trade, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in Aberdeen's coalition (1852–5) and again under Palmerston (1859–66). In 1867 he became leader of the Liberal Party, and soon after served his first term as premier. He disestablished and disendowed the Irish Church, and established a system of national education (1870). Frequently in office until his resignation in 1894, he succeeded in carrying out a scheme of parliamentary reform (the Reform Act, 1884) which went a long way towards universal male suffrage. In his last two ministries he introduced bills for Irish Home Rule, but both were defeated. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Gladstone's policies followed his strong religious convictions and his liberalism. He resisted imperialist expansion, and his mistrust of socialism was reflected in a belief that government alone cannot solve social problems. |
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