The Lord Brougham and Vaux | |
|---|---|
_-_Henry_Brougham%2c_1st_Baron_Brougham_and_Vaux_-_NPG_3136_-_National_Portrait_Gallery.jpg) | |
| Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 22 November 1830 – 21 November 1834 | |
| Monarch | William IV |
| Prime Minister | The Earl Grey The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | The Lord Lyndhurst |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Lyndhurst |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 22 November 1830 – 7 May 1868 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Lord Brougham and Vaux |
| Member of Parliament forKnaresborough | |
| In office February 1830 – August 1830 | |
| Preceded by | George Tierney |
| Succeeded by | Henry Cavendish |
| Member of Parliament forWinchelsea | |
| In office 1815 – February 1830 | |
| Preceded by | William Vane |
| Succeeded by | John Williams |
| Member of Parliament forCamelford | |
| In office 1810 – November 1812 | |
| Preceded by | Lord Henry Petty |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henry Peter Brougham (1778-09-19)19 September 1778 Cowgate, Edinburgh |
| Died | 7 May 1868(1868-05-07) (aged 89) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Anne Eden (1785–1865) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Henry Brougham Eleanora Syme |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux,PC, FRS (/ˈbruː(ə)m ... ˈvoʊks/; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who becameLord High Chancellor of Great Britain and played a prominent role in passing theReform Act 1832 andSlavery Abolition Act 1833.
Born inEdinburgh, Brougham helped found theEdinburgh Review in 1802 before moving to London, where he qualified as abarrister in 1808. Elected to theHouse of Commons in 1810 as aWhig, he wasMember of Parliament for various constituencies until becoming a peer in 1830.
Brougham won popular renown for helping defeat the1820 Pains and Penalties Bill, an attempt by the widely dislikedGeorge IV to annul his marriage toCaroline of Brunswick. He became an advocate of liberal causes includingabolition of the slave trade,free trade[citation needed] and parliamentary reform. Appointed Lord Chancellor in 1830, he made a number of reforms intended to speed up legal cases and established theCentral Criminal Court. He never regained government office after 1834 and although he played an active role in theHouse of Lords, he often did so in opposition to his former colleagues.
Education was another area of interest. He helped establish theSociety for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge[1]
He also was a founder ofUniversity College London, as well as holding some academic posts, includingRector, University of Edinburgh. In later years he spent much of his time in the French town ofCannes, making it a popular resort for the British upper-classes; he died there in 1868.
Brougham was born and grew up inEdinburgh, the eldest son ofHenry Brougham (1742–1810), ofBrougham Hall inWestmorland, and Eleanora, daughter of Reverend James Syme. The Broughams had been an influentialCumberland family for centuries. Brougham was educated at theRoyal High School and theUniversity of Edinburgh, where he chiefly studiednatural science and mathematics, but also the law. He published several scientific papers through theRoyal Society, notably on light and colours and onprisms, and at the age of only 25 was elected a Fellow.[citation needed]
However, Brougham chose law as his profession and was admitted to theFaculty of Advocates in 1800. He practised little in Scotland, and instead enteredLincoln's Inn in 1803. Five years later he was called to the Bar. Not a wealthy man, Brougham turned to journalism to support himself financially through these years. He was one of the founders of theEdinburgh Review and quickly became known as its foremost contributor, with articles on everything from science, politics, colonial policy, literature, poetry, surgery, mathematics and the fine arts.[2]
In the early 19th century, Brougham, a follower ofNewton, launched anonymous attacks in theEdinburgh Review againstThomas Young's research, which proved light was a wave phenomenon that exhibited interference and diffraction. These attacks slowed acceptance of the truth for a decade, untilFrançois Arago andAugustin-Jean Fresnel championed Young's work.
Brougham's scientific forays also included an attack upon SirWilliam Herschel (1738–1822). As Royal Astronomer, Herschel found a correlation between the observed number of sunspots and wheat prices.[3] This met with ridicule as a "grand absurdity" from Lord Brougham. Economists nowadays concur with Brougham on the irrelevancy ofsunspots.
The success of theEdinburgh Review made Brougham a man of the mark from his first arrival in London. He quickly became a fixture in London society and gained the friendship ofLord Grey and other leadingWhig politicians. In 1806 theForeign Secretary,Charles James Fox, appointed him secretary to a diplomatic mission toPortugal, led byJames St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn, andJohn Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent. The mission aimed to counteract the anticipated French invasion ofPortugal.
During these years he became a close supporter of themovement for the abolition of slavery, a cause to which he was to be passionately devoted for the rest of his life. Despite being a well-known and popular figure, Brougham had to wait before being offered a parliamentary seat to contest. However, in 1810 he was elected forCamelford, arotten borough controlled by theDuke of Bedford.[4]
He quickly gained a reputation in theHouse of Commons, where he was one of the most frequent speakers and was regarded by some as a potential future leader of the Whig Party. However, Brougham's career was to take a downturn in 1812, when, standing as one of two Whig candidates forLiverpool, he was heavily defeated. He was to remain out of Parliament until 1816 when he was returned forWinchelsea. He quickly resumed his position as one of the most forceful members of the House of Commons and worked especially in advocating a programme for the education of the poor, where he chaired the select committee which produced the influentialReports on the Education of the Lower Orders.[2]
He was also a proponent of legal reform and it was on this subject in 1828, he made a six-hour speech, the longest ever made in the House of Commons.[5]
In 1812, Brougham had become one of the chief advisers to Queen Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of George, Prince of Wales, the Prince Regent and futureGeorge IV. This was to prove a key development in his life.
In April 1820, Caroline, then living abroad, appointed Brougham her Attorney-General. Earlier that year George IV had succeeded to the throne on the death of his long incapacitated fatherGeorge III. Caroline was brought back to Britain in June for appearances only, but the king immediately began divorce proceedings against her.
The Pains and Penalties Bill, aimed at dissolving the marriage and stripping Caroline of her Royal title on the grounds of adultery, was brought before theHouse of Lords by theTory government. However, Brougham led a legal team (which also includedThomas Denman) that eloquently defended the Princess. Brougham threatened to introduce evidence of George IV's affairs and his secret marriage to a Roman Catholic, which could have potentially thrown the monarchy into chaos, and it was suggested to Brougham that he hold back for the sake of his country.
He responded with his now-famous speech in the House of Lords:
An advocate, in the discharge of his duty, knows but one person in all the world, and that person is his client. To save that client by all means and expedients, and at all hazards and costs to other persons, and amongst them, to himself, is his first and only duty; and in performing this duty he must not regard the alarm, the torments, the destruction which he may bring upon others. Separating the duty of a patriot from that of an advocate, he must go on reckless of consequences, though it should be his unhappy fate to involve his country in confusion.
The speech has since become legendary among defence lawyers for the principle of zealously advocating for one's client.[6]
The bill passed, but by the narrow margin of only nine votes.Lord Liverpool, aware of the unpopularity of the bill and afraid that it might be overturned in the House of Commons, then withdrew it. The British public had mainly been on the Princess's side, and the outcome of the trial made Brougham one of the most famous men in the country. His legal practice on theNorthern Circuit rose fivefold, although he had to wait until 1827 before being made aKing's Counsel.[2]
In 1826, Brougham, along withWellington, was one of the clients and lovers named in the notoriousMemoirs of Harriette Wilson. Before publication, Wilson and publisherJohn Joseph Stockdale wrote to all those named in the book offering them the opportunity to be excluded from the work in exchange for a cash payment. Brougham paid and secured his anonymity.[7][8]
| NO SLAVERY! ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY OF YORK You honourably distinguished yourselves In the ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE by your zealous support of WILLIAM WILBERFORCE Who can be more worthy of your choice as a REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE COUNTY the enlightened friend and champion of Negro Freedom HENRY BROUGHAM by returning him YOU WILL DO AN HONOUR TO THE COUNTY and A SERVICE TO HUMANITY[9] |
Brougham remained a member of Parliament forWinchelsea until February 1830 when he was returned forKnaresborough. However, he represented Knaresborough only until August the same year, when he became one of four representatives forYorkshire. His support for the immediate abolition of slavery brought him enthusiastic support in the industrialWest Riding. The ReverendBenjamin Godwin of Bradford devised and funded posters that appealed to Yorkshire voters who had supportedWilliam Wilberforce to support Brougham as a committed opponent of slavery[9] However, Brougham was adopted as a Whig candidate by only a tiny majority at the nomination meeting: the Whig gentry objecting that he had no connection with agricultural interests, and no connection with the county.[10] Brougham came second in the poll, behind the other Whig candidate; although the liberals of Leeds had placarded the town with claims thatone of the Tory candidates supported slavery, this was strenuously denied by him.[11]
In November theTory government led by the Duke of Wellington fell, and the Whigs came to power underLord Grey. Brougham joined the government as Lord Chancellor, although his opponents claimed he previously stated he would not accept office under Grey.[12] Brougham refused the post ofAttorney General, but accepted that ofLord Chancellor, which he held for four years. On 22 November, he was raised to the peerage asBaron Brougham and Vaux, ofBrougham in the County of Westmorland.[2][13]
The highlights of Brougham's time in government were passing the Reform Act 1832 and Slavery Abolition Act 1833 but he was seen as dangerous, unreliable and arrogant.Charles Greville, who wasClerk of the Privy Council for 35 years, recorded his "genius and eloquence" was marred by "unprincipled and execrable judgement".[14] Although retained whenLord Melbourne succeeded Grey in July 1834, the administration was replaced in November bySir Robert Peel's Tories. When Melbourne became Prime Minister again in April 1835, he excluded Brougham, saying his conduct was one of the main reasons for the fall of the previous government;Baron Cottenham became Lord Chancellor in January 1836.[2]
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Brougham was never to hold office again. However, for more than thirty years after his fall he continued to take an active part in the judicial business of the House of Lords, and in its debates, having now turned fiercely against his former political associates, but continuing his efforts on behalf of reform of various kinds. He also devoted much of his time to writing. He had continued to contribute to theEdinburgh Review, the best of his writings being subsequently published asHistorical Sketches of Statesmen Who Flourished in the Time of George III.
In 1834, he was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1837, Brougham presented a bill for public education, arguing that "it cannot be doubted that some legislative effort must at length be made to remove from this country the opprobrium of having done less for the education of the people than any of the more civilized nations on earth".[15][page needed]
In 1838, after news came up of British colonies where the emancipation of the slaves was obstructed or where the ex-slaves were being badly treated and discriminated against, Lord Brougham stated in the House of Lords:
The slave ... is as fit for his freedom as any English peasant, aye, or any Lord whom I now address. I demand his rights; I demand his liberty without stint.... I demand that your brother be no longer trampled upon as your slave![16]
Brougham was electedRector of Marischal College for 1838.[17] He also edited, in collaboration withSir Charles Bell,William Paley'sNatural Theology and published a work on political philosophy and in 1838 he published an edition of his speeches in four volumes. The last of his works was his posthumousAutobiography.
In 1854, Brougham was appointed to theRoyal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law, aroyal commission to consolidate existing statutes and enactments ofEnglish law.[18]
In 1857 he was one of the founders of theNational Association for the Promotion of Social Science and was its president at some congresses.[4]
In 1860, Brougham was given byQueen Victoria a second peerage asBaron Brougham and Vaux, ofBrougham in the County of Westmorland and ofHighhead Castle in the County of Cumberland, with remainder to his youngest brotherWilliam Brougham (died 1886). The patent stated that the second peerage was in honour of the great services he had rendered, especially in promoting the abolition of slavery.[4]
Brougham was said[clarification needed] to be the father of writerMarie Blaze de Bury. Her last name was Stuart or Stewart and she was born inOban, Scotland in 1813.[19] She was sent to France when she was nine where she completed her education.[citation needed]
Brougham married Mary Spalding (d. 1865), daughter of Thomas Eden, and widow ofJohn Spalding, MP, in 1821. They had two daughters, both of whom predeceased their parents, the latter one dying in 1839.
Lord Brougham and Vaux died in May 1868 inCannes, France, aged 89 and was buried in theCimetière du Grand Jas.[2] The cemetery is up to the present dominated by Brougham's statue, and he is honoured for his major role in building the city of Cannes.[20] Hishatchment is inNinekirks, which was then the parish church of Brougham.
The Barony of 1830 became extinct on his death, while he was succeeded in the Barony of 1860 according to the special remainder by his younger brotherWilliam Brougham.[21]
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As the designer ofthe brougham, a four-wheeled horse-drawncarriage that bears his name, Brougham's patronage brought renown to the French seaside resort ofCannes. In 1835, when little more than a fishing village on a picturesque coast, Brougham purchased a tract of land and built on it, leading it to become a popularsanitorium of Europe. Owing to his influence the beachfront promenade atNice became known as thePromenade des Anglais (literally, "The Promenade of the English").[23] The baron inspired others to winter in Cannes and own a second home there. He oversaw the construction of 'Villa Elenore-Louise' which he named after his daughter, living in the villa himself. One of his friends became the riviera's de facto estate agent owing to the building ofChâteau Vallombrosa. The newly built villas made popular by Brougham attracted royalty, including as Queen Victoria and the Russian Czar.[24]
A statue of Lord Brougham stands at the Cannes waterfront, across from thePalais des festivals et des congrès.[24]
Brougham holds the House of Commons record for non-stop speaking at six hours.[25]
According to legend, a very young Brougham was present, along withRobert Burns, at the trial of the world's first steam-powered ship on 14 October 1788 at Dalswinton Loch nearAuldgirth, Dumfries and Galloway. Brougham denied this, and it's likely Burns's presence is also invented.[26] William Symington ofWanlockhead built the two-cylindered engine for Patrick Miller of Dalswinton.[27]
Brougham Street and Brougham Place inEdinburgh are named in his memory.[28]
Brougham Street inChristchurch,New Zealand, was also named in his honour.[29]
Brougham wrote a prodigious number of treatises on science, philosophy, and history. Besides the writings mentioned in this article, he was the author ofDialogues on Instinct; with Analytical View of the Researches on Fossil Osteology,Lives of Statesmen, Philosophers, and Men of Science of the Time of George III,Natural Theology, etc. His last work was an autobiography written in his 84th year and published in 1871.
Brougham'sPolitical Philosophy was included on the Cambridge syllabus for History and Political Philosophy, where it was considered among the major works on the topic along withAristotle'sPolitics,François Guizot'sHistoire de la civilization en Europe, andHenry Hallam'sConstitutional History.[30]
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
The papers of the Brougham family were deposited atUniversity College London in 1953, having previously been purchased byC.K. Ogden.[31] The majority of the collection is formed by Henry Brougham's extensive correspondence, totalling over 50,000 items.[31] The University also holds the archive of theSociety for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, which Brougham helped to establish.[32]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brougham and Vaux, Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 652–655. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cousin, John William (1910). "Brougham And Vaux, Henry, 1st Lord".A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons. pp. 48–49 – viaWikisource.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCamelford 1810–1812 With:Robert Adair | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWinchelsea 1815–1830 With:Calverley Bewicke, until 1816 Viscount Barnard, 1816–1818 George Galway Mills, 1818–1820 Lucius Concannon, 1820–1823 William Leader, 1823–1826 Viscount Howick, from 1826 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKnaresborough 1830 With:Sir James Mackintosh | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forYorkshire 1830 With:William Duncombe Viscount Morpeth Richard Bethell | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1830–1834 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Rector of the University of Glasgow 1824–1826 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh 1859–1868 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Brougham and Vaux of Brougham 1830–1868 | Extinct |
| Baron Brougham and Vaux of Brougham andHigh Head Castle 1860–1868 | Succeeded by | |
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