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Portrait of Earl of Derby

Prime Ministers · 19th century

Earl of Derby

1799–1869 · British

Conservative

In office: 1852; 1858–1859; 1866–1868

Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (known as Lord Stanley before 1851), began as a Whig and, as Colonial Secretary, carried the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. He broke with Peel over repeal of the Corn Laws and led the Conservative Party for 22 years (1846–1868), the longest leadership in its history. He was Prime Minister three times, always without a Commons majority, and his last government, with Disraeli, passed the Second Reform Act of 1867, which he called "a leap in the dark".

How to spot them

  • ▸Three times PM, all minority governments; longest-serving Conservative leader (1846–1868)
  • ▸The 'Who? Who?' ministry of 1852
  • ▸Second Reform Act 1867: 'a leap in the dark'
  • ▸Translated Homer's Iliad into English blank verse
  • ▸'The Rupert of Debate'

In office

The 'Who? Who?' ministry (1852)

Nickname from the deaf Duke of Wellington repeatedly asking who the unknown new ministers were

Second Reform Act, 'a leap in the dark' (1867)

Roughly doubled the electorate, enfranchising many urban working men

Government of India Act transferring rule from the East India Company to the Crown (1858)

Passed after the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Carried the Slavery Abolition Act as Colonial Secretary (1833)

As Lord Stanley in Grey's Whig government

Blank-verse translation of Homer's Iliad (1864)

A popular Victorian translation by a serving party leader

Quick-fire facts

  • •Leader of the Conservative Party for 22 years, longer than anyone else
  • •Bulwer-Lytton dubbed him 'the Rupert of Debate' after the dashing Prince Rupert
  • •Resigned from Peel's cabinet in 1845 over the plan to repeal the Corn Laws
  • •The Epsom Derby is named after his grandfather, the 12th Earl, not him
  • •His family seat was Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool
  • •His son, the 15th Earl, served as Foreign Secretary under Disraeli and later joined Gladstone's Liberal cabinet

Drill it — 6 cards

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Sources