William Harcourt (politician)
William Harcourt | |
---|---|
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 6 October 1896 – 8 December 1898 | |
Preceded by | The Earl of Rosebery |
Succeeded by | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895 | |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
Preceded by | George Goschen |
Succeeded by | Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt |
In office 6 February 1886 – 20 July 1886 | |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
Preceded by | Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt |
Succeeded by | Lord Randolph Churchill |
Home Secretary | |
In office 28 April 1880 – 23 June 1885 | |
Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
Preceded by | R. A. Cross |
Succeeded by | R. A. Cross |
Personal details | |
Born | 14 October 1827 |
Died | 1 October 1904 | (aged 76)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse(s) | (1) Maria Theresa Lister (d. 1863) (2) Elizabeth Cabot Motley (d. 1928) |
Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt
Historian Roy Jenkins says he was "too much of a party man. In manner and by origin he was a patrician figure, but he saw most issues exclusively in terms of parliamentary infighting… His views were usually much more of a reaction to what his political enemies, in the other party and in his own, were saying than the result of any objective thought. He inspired considerable loyalty among his followers – the Great Gladiator he was sometimes enthusiastically called – but his colleagues, partly as a result of his execrable temperament and his bullying… found him a difficult man with whom to work."[2]
Family and ancestry
Harcourt was the second son of Rev. Canon
His probate was sworn in the year he died (when he was resident at Nuneham Park and at Malwood in Hampshire) then resworn, over £3000 upward, at ninepence short of £190,265 (equivalent to about £21,800,000 in 2021).[6]
Education and early life
William's childhood was an austere one, educated at home by a Swiss
At Cambridge, William rejected his family's
He quickly made his mark as a speaker,
Political career
Harcourt entered
His name became connected with the passing of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
He was recognised as one of the ablest and most effective leaders of the Liberal party and when, after a brief interval in 1885, Gladstone returned to office in 1886, Harcourt was made
In 1894 he introduced and carried a memorable
Leader of the Opposition
At the
During Harcourt's period as leader of the Liberal party in the House of Commons, the all-House enquiry into the failed Jameson Raid took place. Harcourt's performance in the enquiry disillusioned sections of the Liberal party, as the Opposition let the Conservative government off the hook by not exposing the involvement of the Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain in the raid's genesis and preparation, Harcourt instead settling for censure of the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, Cecil Rhodes.[13][14]
In December 1898 the crisis arrived and, with Morley, Harcourt retired from the party and resigned his Leadership of the Opposition, alleging as his reason, in letters to Morley, the cross-currents of opinion among his old supporters and former colleagues. The split excited considerable comment, and resulted in much heart-searching and a more or less open division between the section of the Liberal party following Rosebery and those who disliked his imperialism.[1]
Though now a private member, Harcourt still continued to assert his independent position, and his attacks on the government were no longer restrained by any deference to Liberal Imperialism. He actively intervened in 1899 and 1900, strongly condemning the government's financial policy and their attitude towards the
Harcourt was offered a peerage in 1902 but he declined it in order to stay in the House of Commons, and to allow his son to advance his political career.[15]
Marriages and children
On 5 November 1859, Harcourt married his first wife Maria Theresa Lister, known as Therese.[
- Julian Harcourt (6 October 1860 – 2 March 1862).
- Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (31 January 1863 – 24 February 1922). Originally christened Reginald, but rechristened at the age of two months.[16] Lewis Harcourt served as Private Secretary to his father and later became a prominent politician in his own right, most notably as Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1910 to 1915.
His first wife died on 1 February 1863, only a day after giving birth to their second and last son. Harcourt remained a widower for thirteen years. On 2 December 1876, he married his second wife Elizabeth Cabot Motley.
- Robert Harcourt (born 7 May 1878). He married Marjorie Laura Cunard. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Harcourt married Ian Rochfort Johnston, a Commander of the Royal Navy.
Publications
- Letters by Historicus on some Questions of International Law: reprinted from 'The Times' with considerable additions. London and Cambridge: Macmillan and Co. 1863. Retrieved 3 July 2018 – via Internet Archive.
- American Neutrality by Historicus: Reprinted from the London "Times" of December 22nd, 1864. New York: New York. 1865. Retrieved 3 July 2018 – via Internet Archive.
Popular culture
- Harcourt was the subject of several parody novels based on
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Chisholm 1911, pp. 939–940
- ^ Roy Jenkins, "From Gladstone to Asquith: The Late Victorian Pattern of Liberal Leadership," History Today (July 1964) 14#7 pp 445-452 at page 446-447.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stansky 2008
- ^ Morrell 2004
- ^ a b Fairclough 2009
- ^ https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations
- ^ ACAD & HRCT846WG.
- ^ Harcourt (1863, 1865)
- ^ Simpson 1984, pp. 77, 89.
- ^ Waugh 2002.
- ^ Simpson 1984, p. 245.
- ^ Fahey 2001.
- ISBN 0-09-458950X.
- ISBN 0300058012.
- ^ "Sir W. Harcourt and the Peerage". The Times. No. 36805. London. 27 June 1902. p. 4.
- ^ Jenkins 1998, p. 45.
- ISBN 9780761171980. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Sigler 1997, pp. 340–347.
- ^ Dickinson 1902.
References
- Dickinson, Evelyn (20 June 1902). "Literary Note and Books of the Month". United Australia. II (12).
- "Harcourt, William George Venables Vernon Granville Vernon (HRCT846WG)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- Fairclough, K R (2009). "Egerton, Francis, third duke of Bridgewater (1736–1803)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8584. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Fahey, D. M. (2001). "The Politics of Drink in Britain: Anglo-American Perspectives: Presidential Address to the Ohio Academy of History, April 29, 2000". The Social History of Alcohol Review. Alcohol and Drugs History Society. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- Jenkins, Roy (1998). The Chancellors. Macmillan. p. 45.
- Morrell, Jack (2004). "Harcourt, William Venables Vernon (1789–1871)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12249. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-0-226-75942-5.
- Sigler, Carolyn, ed. (1997). Alternative Alices: Visions and Revisions of Lewis Carroll's "Alice" Books. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 340–347.
- Stansky, Peter (2008). "Harcourt, Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon (1827–1904)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33693. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Waugh, Ian (2002), "The man they could not hang", Inside Out – South West, BBC, retrieved 17 February 2008
Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh (1911). "Harcourt, Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). pp. 939–940. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Gardiner, A. G. (1923). The Life of Sir William Harcourt (2 vols ed.). London: Constable.
- Machin, I. "Biography of Sir William Harcourt". Liberal Democrat History Group. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
External links
- Lawlessness in the national church (1899)
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Vernon Harcourt
- Portraits of William Harcourt at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Sir William Vernon Harcourt (memorial tablet – inside church) at Find a Grave
- William Vernon Harcourt – churchyard at Find a Grave