Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Conservatives. He split both major British parties in the course of his career. He was the father, by different marriages, of Nobel Peace Prize winner Austen Chamberlain and Neville Chamberlain.

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Early life & business career
Chamberlain was born in Camberwell to Joseph Chamberlain, a successful shoe manager, and Caroline Chamberlain (née Harben), daughter of cheese merchant Henry Harben. He also had a younger brother, Richard Chamberlain, who also became a Liberal politician later in life. Raised at Highbury, a prosperous suburb of North London, Chamberlain was educated at University College School, excelling academically and gaining awards in French and mathematics.

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Marriages & children
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Reform efforts
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Mayor of Birmingham
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National Liberal Federation: 1876–1880
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President of the Board of Trade: 1880–1885
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Ireland
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Electoral reform
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1885 election
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Liberal split
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Liberal Unionist: 1886–1893
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1886 election
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1892 election
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Statesman: 1895–1903
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Colonial Secretary
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West Africa
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Jameson Raid
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Attempted Anglo-German alliance
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Boer War
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Workmen's Compensation Act
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Khaki election of 1900
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Third attempt at Anglo-German alliance: 1900–02
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End of the Boer War: 1900–1902
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Concentration camps scandal
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Peace
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Rise of the Balfour government: 1902
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Education Act 1902
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Zionism and the "Uganda Proposal": 1902–03
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South African tour: 1902–03
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Tariff reform, Unionist split, & countrywide crusade: 1902–1905
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Corn Tax & 1903 budget standoff
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Cabinet resignation
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1905 election
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Rift with America
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1907 Imperial Conference
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Stroke
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Resignation
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Decline & death
Despite losing all hope of recovering his health and returning to the political sphere, Chamberlain continued to keep tabs on and support the campaign of tariff reform and on the career of his son Austen. He also opposed proposals of more hardline Liberals to remove the veto power of the House of Lords and gave his blessing to Unionist opposition to Irish Home Rule. In the 1909 general election, he returned unopposed to his West Birmingham constituency. Although, in 1914, Chamberlain declined to seek re-election.

On 2 July 1914, six days before his 78th birthday, Chamberlain suffered a heart attack and died in the arms of his wife, surrounded by his close family. Refusing an offer for an official burial at Westminster Abbey, his family held a Unitarian ceremony in Birmingham. Chamberlain was laid to rest at Key Hill Cemetary, Hockley, in the same grave as his first two wives, close to that of his parents. On 31 March 1916, the Chamberlain Memorial. a bust created by sculptor Mark Tweed, was unveiled at Westminster Abbey. Among those present were Arthur Balfour, Bonar Law, Austen and Neville Chamberlain, and other members of the Chamberlain, Hutton, and Martineau families.