Lord Melbourne

Lord Melbourne (1779-1848), English statesman, who was prime minister during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign and initiated her in the ways of statecraft.

William Lamb, 2^nd Viscount Melbourne, was born on March 15, 1779, at Brockett Hall, Hertfordshire. He was educated at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and at the University of Glasgow. A Whig, he was elected to Parliament in 1806, served as chief secretary for Ireland (1827-28), and as home secretary (1830-34) acted firmly to suppress agrarian and trade-unionist agitators. In 1834 and from 1835 to 1841 he served as prime minister at a time when Whig power was receding. A good-humored moderate, he increasingly disliked political controversy, and after 1832 looked with disfavor on further parliamentary reforms. In 1840, however, a crisis over Syria that threatened war with France roused him to strong leadership.

When Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, Melbourne assumed the duties of her secretary and political tutor. He was devoted to the young queen, as she was to him, and with his guidance she learned to find her way in British politics and acquired an early preference for Whig ministries (which, however, she later abandoned). Melbourne was crippled by a stroke in 1842 and died at Brockett Hall on November 24, 1848.