William Henry Smith | |
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| First Lord of the Treasury | |
| In office 14 January 1887 – 6 October 1891 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Balfour |
| Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 14 January 1887 – 6 October 1891 | |
| Prime Minister | The Marquess of Salisbury |
| Preceded by | Lord Randolph Churchill |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Balfour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1825-06-24)24 June 1825 London, England |
| Died | 6 October 1891(1891-10-06) (aged 66) |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Danvers (1858–1913) |
| Alma mater | None |
William Henry Smith,FRS (24 June 1825 – 6 October 1891) was anEnglish bookseller and newsagent of the family firmW H Smith, who expanded the firm and introduced the practice of selling books and newspapers at railway stations. He was elected aMember of Parliament in 1868 and rose to the position ofFirst Lord of the Admiralty less than ten years later. Because of his lack of naval experience, he was perceived as a model for the character Sir Joseph Porter inH.M.S. Pinafore (and consequently nicknamedPinafore Smith). In the mid-1880s, he was twiceSecretary of State for War, and laterFirst Lord of the Treasury andLeader of the House of Commons, among other posts.
The son ofWilliam Henry Smith (1792–1865), Smith was born in London. He was educated atTavistock Grammar School before joining his father's newsagent and book business in 1846, at which time the firm became W H Smith & Son.[1] The two men took advantage of therailway boom by opening news-stands onrailway stations, starting withEuston in 1848.[1]
In 1850 the firm opened depots inBirmingham,Manchester andLiverpool. The business became a household name (W H Smith), and Smith junior used the success of the firm as a springboard into politics.[1][2]
In February 1878, he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society.[3]
In 1868, Smith was electedMember of Parliament forWestminster as aConservative after an initial attempt to get into Parliament as a "Liberal-Conservative" in 1865 as a supporter of Prime MinisterLord Palmerston.[4] In 1874, Smith was appointed Financial Secretary to theTreasury whenDisraeli returned asPrime Minister. In 1877, he becameFirst Lord of the Admiralty even though he never went to sea throughout his life. It has been claimed that Smith's appointment was the inspiration for the character of Sir Joseph Porter,KCB, inGilbert and Sullivan's 1878comic opera,H.M.S. Pinafore.
Gilbert had written to Sullivan in December 1877, "The fact that the First Lord in the opera is aRadical of the most pronounced type will do away with any suspicion that W. H. Smith is intended". However, the character was seen as a reflection on Smith, and even Disraeli was overheard to refer to his First Lord as "Pinafore Smith".[5][6] It has been suggested that the Pinafore character was as much based on Smith's controversial predecessor as First Lord,Hugh Childers, as on Smith himself.[7] Smith held the office for three years until theLiberal Party returned to power.
In 1885, a redistribution of seats led to Smith now standing for theStrand division in Westminster, and he served asChief Secretary for Ireland for a short period in the following year. He served twice asSecretary of State for War: for the first time inLord Salisbury's brief 1885–86 ministry, and for the second when the Conservatives won the1886 general election. Following this appointment, he succeeded in 1887 asFirst Lord of the Treasury andLeader of the House of Commons, and becameLord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1891.
He died shortly afterwards atWalmer Castle, Kent, and his widow was createdViscountess Hambleden in his honour and took the title from the village close to the Smiths' country house ofGreenlands, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. One of the few ministers personally close to Lord Salisbury (apart from the Salisbury's nephew,Arthur Balfour), Smith was dubbed "Old Morality" because of his austere manner and conduct.
Smith married Emily, daughter of Frederick Dawes Danvers, in 1858. They had two sons and four daughters:
He died in October 1891, aged 66.[citation needed] The following month, his widow was raised to thepeerage in his honour asViscountess Hambleden, ofHambleden in theCounty of Buckingham. She died in August 1913 and was succeeded by her and Smith's only surviving son, Frederick.
![A Long Distance Swim, W. H. Smith: "Hooray – another stroke or two and we've done it."[a]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWilliam_Henry_Smith_(politician)_and_Robert_Gascoyne-Cecil%2c_3rd_Marquess_of_Salisbury_-_Cartoon_from_Punch_-_1891_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14808.png)
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Media related toWilliam Henry Smith (politician) at Wikimedia Commons| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWestminster 1868–1885 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by (new constituency) | Member of Parliament forStrand 1885–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1874–1877 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1877–1880 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for War 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Ireland 1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for War 1886–1887 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Treasury 1887–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 1887–1891 | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Conservative Leader of the Commons 1887–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1891 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
