William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98), British statesman. He entered Parliament in 1832 as a Tory, publishing his controversial book The State in its Relations with the Church in 1838. Having shifted his allegiance to the Liberal party, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1852-55; 1859-66). He was prime minister four times between 1868 and 1894 and, with Disraeli, dominated politics in the late Victorian age. A great moralist, he tried to apply his own strict Christian principles to government and was known as a master of debate
“Posterity will do justice to that unprincipled maniac Gladstone — extraordinary mixture of envy, vindictiveness, hypocrisy, and superstition; and with one commanding characteristic — whether Prime Minister, or Leader of Opposition, whether preaching, praying, speechifying or scribbling —never a gentleman! Benjamin Disraeli on W. S. Gladstone”
(Queen Victoria once complained that he used to address her as if she were a public meeting). His achievements included parliamentary reform and two Irish Land Acts; however, his Irish Home Rule Bill was twice defeated and he resigned in 1894.
