William Henry Smith (politician, 1825)

William Henry Smith

Satirical drawing from the Punch for Smith's nomination as First Lord of the Admiralty, 1877

William Henry Smith PC (born June 24, 1825 in London , † October 6, 1891 in Walmer Castle near Deal, Kent ) was a British politician and businessman.

Life

William Henry Smith was born to William Henry Smith (1792-1865), the owner of the book and magazine company WHSmith . He attended the Grammar School of Tavistock (Devon) and from 1846 participated in his father's business. Through his use, the sale of books and newspapers at train stations began, which led the company to great fame.

In 1868 Smith was elected a Conservative Member of the House of Commons . An earlier attempt to be elected to parliament as a liberal supporter of Palmerston in 1865 failed. In 1874, Smith was appointed Secretary to the Treasury . In 1877 he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty . Lacking any military or seafaring experience, he was often the target of ridicule; Benjamin Disraeli called him "Pinafore Smith" (after the operetta HMS Pinafore , in which his career was satirically exploited).

After a reallocation of the seats, Smith represented the London constituency of Strand from 1885 onwards . The following year he briefly held the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland . He was Minister of War during Salisbury's brief tenure as Prime Minister from July 1885 to February 1886 and after the Conservatives' election success in July. In 1887 he became First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons . In 1891 he was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports . Because of his serious demeanor, Smith was also jokingly called "Old Morality".

William Henry Smith supported the hypothesis that the works of William Shakespeare came from the pen of Francis Bacon .

literature

• Herbert Maxwell: Life and Times of the Right Honorable William Henry Smith, MP W. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh 1893 ( Vol. 1 , Vol. 2 )
• Herbert Eustace Maxwell:  Smith, William Henry (1825-1891) . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 53:  Smith - Stanger. MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1898, pp 157 - 160 (English).
• Richard Davenport-Hines: Smith, William Henry (1825-1891). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of May 2009

Web links

Commons : William Henry Smith  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Rt. Hon. William Henry Smith on thepeerage.com

predecessor	Office	successor
George Ward Hunt	First Lord of the Admiralty 1877–1880	Thomas Baring