Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne

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The 1st Earl of Selborne.
The 1st Earl of Selborne.

Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne (November 27, 1812May 4, 1895), Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, was called to the bar in 1837 and entered parliament as a Conservative in 1847. Palmer joined the Peelite Conservatives who were to eventually help create the Liberal party in 1859. Roundell Palmer served Palmerston and Russell as Solicitor General for England and Wales (1861-1863) and Attorney General for England and Wales (1863-1866).

He was born at Mixbury in Oxfordshire, studied at Rugby and Winchester, graduated in 1834 from Oxford after a brilliant career there, and received his master's degree in 1836. He soon became known for his keen and subtle mind and his vast learning.

Under Gladstone, he became Lord Chancellor in 1872 and was created Baron Selborne. His first tenure in the office saw the passage of the Judicature Act of 1873, which completely reorganized the judiciary. He served in the same office in Gladstone's Second Cabinet (1880-1885), and was created Earl of Selborne and Viscount Wolmer in 1882. He broke with Gladstone, however, over Irish Home Rule, in 1885, and joined the Liberal Unionists.

His son, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, later became a prominent Unionist politician.

[edit] Publications

  • Selborne Memorials (London, 1896-98)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Thomas Gill
Viscount Ebrington
Member of Parliament for Plymouth
with Viscount Ebrington

1847 – 1852
Succeeded by
Charles John Mare
Robert Collier
Preceded by
Charles John Mare
Robert Collier
Member of Parliament for Plymouth
with Robert Collier

1853 – 1857
Succeeded by
James White
Robert Collier
Legal offices
Preceded by
Sir William Atherton
Solicitor General for England and Wales
1861 – 1863
Succeeded by
Robert Porrett Collier
Preceded by
Sir William Atherton
Attorney General for England and Wales
1863 – 1866
Succeeded by
Sir Hugh Cairns
Political offices
Preceded by
The Lord Hatherley
Lord Chancellor
1872 – 1874
Succeeded by
The Lord Cairns
Preceded by
The Earl Cairns
Lord Chancellor
1880 – 1885
Succeeded by
The Lord Halsbury
Academic offices
Preceded by
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Rector of the University of St Andrews
1877 – 1880
Succeeded by
Sir Theodore Martin
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Selborne
1872 – 1895
Succeeded by
William Palmer
Earl of Selborne
1882 – 1895
Viscount Wolmer
1882 – 1895