Derby Edward Henry Smith Stanley

Derby, Edward Henry Smith Stanley, Earl of, born 1826, was the fifteenth earl, being the son of the well-known Conservative Prime Minister and statesman. He was educated at Rugby and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in honours. In 1848 he entered the House of Commons as member for King's Lynn, and in 1852 he was appointed Under-Secretary in the Foreign Office. In 1858-59 he was Secretary for India in his father's Government at the epoch of the transfer of the East India Company's jurisdiction to the Crown. In 1866-68 he was Foreign Secretary in the Derby-Disraeli Government, and in 1869 succeeded to the earldom upon the death of his father. In 1874 he was again Foreign Secretary in the Conservative Government, but resigned in 1878 over the question of calling out the reserves and occupying Cyprus. In 1880 he joined the Liberal ranks, and was Colonial Secretary 1882-85. In 1886 he departed from Mr. Gladstone upon the question of Irish Home Rule. He was Lord Rector of Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. He died in 1893.