Joseph Chamberlain

The Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836–2 July 1914) was a British statesman. In his early years he was a successful businessman, a radically minded Liberal, a campaigner for educational reform and became President of the Board of Trade. Later he re-emerged in alliance with the Conservatives, as an imperialist and protectionist, serving as Colonial Secretary. Despite never becoming Prime Minister, he is regarded as one of the most important British politicians of the late 19th century and early 20th century, a colourful character and a renowned orator. He was the father of Sir Austen Chamberlain (1863 to 1937) and Neville Chamberlain (1869 to 1940).

Legacy

Winston Churchill called him "a splendid piebald: first black, then white, or, in political terms, first fiery red, then true blue." This has been the conventional view of Chamberlain's politics - that he moved rightwards across the political spectrum from the left of the Liberal party to the right of the Conservatives. An alternative view is that he was always a radical in home affairs and an imperialist in foreign affairs, and even that these views were not in great conflict with each other - in both he rejected "laissez-faire capitalism". Even after leaving the Liberals he was a proponent of Workmen's Compensation and old-age pensions.

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He was the driving force behind the foundation of the University of Birmingham and was its first Chancellor. His papers can be found in the Library there, and the University's clock tower is known as "Old Joe" after him. He is also commemorated by Chamberlain Square in central Birmingham. A large iron clock erected in his honour stands in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, near the cemetery in which he is buried. His Birmingham home, Highbury Hall, is now a civic conference venue and a venue for civil marriages, and is open to the public occasionally.

Related Topics:
University of Birmingham - Chamberlain Square - Jewellery Quarter

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Chamberlain is also notable as the only individual to have split both major political parties during one generation. His decision to found the Liberal Unionists rather than adhere to the policy of Irish Home Rule ruined any chances of Gladstone being returned with any sort of workable majority after 1885. Less than twenty years later, Chamberlain's campaign for tariff reform allowed the Liberals to unite over the issue of Free Trade.

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The Midland Metro has a tram named after him.

Related Topics:
Midland Metro - Tram

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