Time magazine, 20 August 1923

Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, GCSI, PC (12 July 1872–30 September 1930) was a British Conservative statesman and lawyer of the early 20th century. 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 untimely death at age 58. This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... {{year nav|1939 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Insignia of a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Statesman is a respectful term used to refer to politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Orator is a Latin word for speaker (from the Latin verb oro, meaning I speak or I pray). In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (Ars Oratoria) was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. ... Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author. ...

Early life and education

Smith was born in Birkenhead in Cheshire and was educated at Birkenhead School. He graduated from Wadham College, Oxford in 1896, where he was a contemporary of the politician John Simon and the athlete C.B.Fry, and was President of the Oxford Union, and taught law at Oxford until 1899, when he was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn where he now lends his name to the F. E. Smith Birkenhead Award Scholarship. Map sources for Birkenhead at grid reference SJ3088 Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. ... The Cheshire Plain - photo taken adjacent to Beeston Castle The Cheshire Plain - photo taken towards Merseyside The Cheshire Plain panorama - photo taken from Mid-Cheshire Ridge Cattle farming in the county Black-and-white timbered buildings on Nantwich High Street Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a... Birkenhead School - Preparatory. ... College name Wadham College Named after Nicholas Wadham Established 1610 Sister College Christs College Warden Sir Neil Chalmers JCR President Ben Jasper Undergraduates 460 MCR President David Patrikarakos Graduates 180 Homepage Boatclub Wadham College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located at the southern... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... In England and Wales, many Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Hong Kong SAR, barristers (, lawyers who are licensed to argue cases in superior courts, as opposed to those licensed for other forms of legal practice outside of the courtrooms, such as providing legal advice to lay clients) are those who have been... Entrance to Grays Inn Grays Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in around the Royal Courts of Justice in London, England to which barristers belong and where they are called to the bar. ...

In 1906 he entered the House of Commons representing the Walton constituency of Liverpool, and attracted attention by a brilliant maiden speech. He was soon a prominent leader of the Unionist wing of the Conservative Party, especially in the planned Ulster resistance to Irish Home Rule in 1912-14. 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Liverpool Walton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Liverpool skyline. ... A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected representative in such bodies as the House of Commons or the United States House of Representatives. ... Unionism, in the context of Ireland, is a belief in the continuation of the Act of Union 1800 (as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920) so that Northern Ireland (created by the 1920 Act) remains part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Marriage

He married Margaret Eleanor Furneaux in April 1901 and they had three children, Eleanor, Frederick and Pamela. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Frederick Winston Furneaux-Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (December 1907-1975) was a British historian. ...

He later had an affair with a young woman named Mona Dunn, who died of peritonitis. In his History of the Twentieth Century Conservative Party, Alan Clark placed the word "peritonitis" in inverted commas, presumably implying that her death was the result of a failed abortion.

First World War

On the outbreak of the First World War he was placed in charge of the Government's Press Bureau, with the rank of colonel and responsibility for newspaper censorship. In 1915 he was appointed Solicitor General by H. H. Asquith, and soon after succeeded his friend Sir Edward Carson as Attorney General. In 1916 he worked to secure the conviction and execution of the Irish nationalist Sir Roger Casement, who had been captured attempting to ship German arms to Ireland. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna... Censorship is the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Her Majestys Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law. ... The Right Honourable Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC (12 September 1852–15 February 1928) served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. ... Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known as the Attorney General, is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Sir Roger David Casement CMG (Irish: Ruairí Mac Easmainn[1]) (1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916) was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary and nationalist by inclination. ...

Baron Birkenhead

In 1919 he was created Baron Birkenhead, of Birkenhead in the County of Cheshire, and appointed Lord Chancellor by Lloyd George. He played a key role in the passage of several key legal reforms, including the reform of English Land Law which was to come to fruition in the mid-1920s, and also played an important role in the negotiations that led to the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, which established an independent Irish Free State the following year. His support for this, and his warm relations with the Irish leaders Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins, angered some of his former Unionist associates, notably Sir Edward Carson. During the negotiations he remarked to Michael Collins that he might be "signing his political death warrant", to which Michael Collins dryly (and accurately) replied that he was "signing his actual death warrant". Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, OM (January 17, 1863–March 26, 1945) was a British statesman and the last Liberal to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the extra-judicial Irish Republic which concluded the Irish War of Independence. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Territory of the Irish Free State Capital Dublin Language(s) Irish, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1922–1936 George V  - 1936–1936 George VI President of the Executive Council  - 1922–1932 W.T. Cosgrave  - 1932–1937 Eamon de Valera Legislature Oireachtas  - Upper house Seanad Éireann  - Lower house Dáil Éireann... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... General Michael John (Mick) Collins (Irish: ; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, both as Chairman of the Provisional Government and... Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... General Michael John (Mick) Collins (Irish: ; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, both as Chairman of the Provisional Government and... General Michael John (Mick) Collins (Irish: ; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, both as Chairman of the Provisional Government and...

The same year (1921) he was also responsible for the House of Lords rejecting a proposal, put forward by Frederick Macquisten MP, to criminalize lesbianism. During the debate, Birkenhead argued that 999 women out of a thousand had "never even heard a whisper of these practices".^[1] This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

Smith was created Viscount Birkenhead, of Birkenhead in the County of Chester, in 1921, and Viscount Furneaux, of Charlton in the County of Northampton, and Earl of Birkenhead in 1922. By 1921-2 Birkenhead and Churchill had become the leading figures of the Lloyd George Coalition, associated with the Irish Treaty, the attempt to go to war with Turkey over Chanak (vetoed by the governments of the Dominions) and (in Birkenhead's case if not Churchill's) the general whiff of moral and financial corruption which had come to surround the Coalition. Even a famous speech in which Birkenhead told undergraduates that the world still offered "glittering prizes" to those with "stout hearts and sharp swords" seemed out of kilter with the more pacific and self-consciously moral style of politics advocated by the new generation of Conservative politicians such as Baldwin and Edward Wood (the future Lord Halifax). At the Carlton Club meeting in October 1922 Birkenhead's arrogant hectoring of the junior ministers and backbenchers was one of the factors leading them to withdraw support from the Coalition. Like many of the senior members of the Coalition, Birkenhead did not hold office in the Bonar Law and Baldwin governments of 1922-4. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ...

From 1924 to 1928 he served as Secretary of State for India in Baldwin's second government; Baldwin had allegedly declined to reappoint him to the Woolsack on the grounds that it would be inappropriate for the Lord Chancellor to be seen drunk in the street. After retiring from politics he became Rector of the University of Aberdeen, a director of Tate & Lyle, and High Steward of Oxford University. He died in London in 1930. 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The office of Secretary of State for India or India Secretary was created in 1858 when India was brought under direct British rule (British Raj). ... The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. ... A tin of Lyles Golden Syrup Tate & Lyle PLC is a UK based multinational food manufacturer and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE. It is a major producer of refined sugar, starches, animal feed and other food ingredients with global operations. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ...

The opinion of Winston Churchill, who was a friend: "He had all the canine virtues in a remarkable degree — courage, fidelity, vigilance, love of chase." Of Margot Asquith, who was not: "F. E. Smith is very clever, but sometimes his brains go to his head. As "Lord Birkenhead", he is a character in the movie Chariots of Fire, an official of the British Olympic Committee. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author. ... Genera Alopex Atelocynus Canis Cerdocyon Chrysocyon Cuon Cynotherium † Dusicyon † Dasycyon Fennecus Lycalopex Lycaon Nyctereutes Otocyon Pseudalopex Speothos Urocyon Vulpes Wikispecies has information related to: Canidae Canidae is the family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals commonly known as canines. ... Emma Alice Margaret (Margot) Asquith, Countess of Oxford & Asquith (neé Tennant) (February 2, 1864-July 28, 1945) was a British socialite, author and wit. ... Chariots of Fire is a British film released in 1981. ...

In the year of his death, he published his utopian The World in 2030 A.D. with airbrush illustrations by E McKnight Kauffer.[1]

Satire

When the Welsh Disestablishment Bill came before Parliament in 1913, F. E. Smith declared it to be "A Bill which has shocked the conscience of every Christian community in Europe". This prompted G. K. Chesterton to write a satirical poem, "Antichrist, Or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode", which asked if Breton sailors, Russian peasants and Christians evicted by the Turks would know or care of what happened to the Anglican Church of Wales, and answered the question with the line "Chuck it, Smith". Ironically, the Church of Wales was later to be disestablished by the Lloyd George Coalition, of which the then Lord Birkenhead was a key member, in 1921. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874–June 14, 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. ...

External links

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F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead

• Works by F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead at Project Gutenberg