The Earl of Birkenhead | |
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Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | |
In office 10 January 1919 – 19 October 1922 | |
Monarch | George V |
Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
Preceded by | The Lord Finlay |
Succeeded by | The Viscount Cave |
Secretary of State for India | |
In office 6 November 1924 – 18 October 1928 | |
Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
Preceded by | The Lord Olivier |
Succeeded by | The Viscount Peel |
Attorney-General for England | |
In office 3 November 1915 – 10 January 1919 | |
Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
Preceded by | Sir Edward Carson |
Succeeded by | Sir Gordon Hewart |
Solicitor-General for England | |
In office 2 June 1915 – 8 November 1915 | |
Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
Preceded by | Sir Stanley Buckmaster |
Succeeded by | Sir George Cave |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 3 February 1919 – 30 September 1930 Hereditary Peerage | |
Preceded by | Peerage created |
Succeeded by | The 2nd Earl of Birkenhead |
Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton | |
In office 8 February 1906 – 14 December 1918 | |
Preceded by | James Henry Stock |
Succeeded by | Harry Chilcott |
Personal details | |
Born | Frederick Edwin Smith 12 July 1872 Birkenhead, Cheshire, England |
Died | 30 September 1930 Belgravia, London, England | (aged 58)
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse |
Margaret Eleanor Furneaux
(m. 1901) |
Children | |
Education | |
Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, GCSI, PC, DL (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living and drinking. He is perhaps best remembered today as Winston Churchill's greatest personal and political friend until Birkenhead's death aged 58 from pneumonia caused by cirrhosis of the liver.