Geoffrey William Algernon Howard JP (12 February 1877 – 20 June 1935) was an English Liberal politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

between 1911 and 1915.

Background and education

George Howard - Howard-93721 - Geoffrey -1894

Howard was the fifth son of

George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle George James Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle (12 August 184316 April 1911), known as George Howard until 1889, was an English aristocrat, peer, politician, and painter. He was the last Earl of Carlisle to own Castle Howard. Early life Howard was ...

, and

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

Rosalind Frances Stanley, daughter of

Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley (13 November 180216 June 1869), known as The Lord Eddisbury between 1848 and 1850, was a British politician. Background Stanley was the son of John Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley, and ...

.thepeerage.com Hon. Geoffrey William Algernon Howard
/ref> He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated as a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

. He was also joint Secretary of the

Cambridge University Liberal Club Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University. It is the successor to the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, which in turn was formed from the merger of Cam ...

from 1897 to 1899. On the break-up of his father's estates (which had been left to his mother and subsequently to his sister Lady Mary, wife of

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...

), he was allocated

Castle Howard Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. ...

Political career

Howard was selected as Liberal candidate for the Eskdale division of Cumberland at the

1906 General Election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

. As part of the Liberal landslide victory he gained the seat for the party, ousting the sitting Conservative

Claude Lowther Colonel Claude William Henry Lowther (1870 – 16 June 1929) was an English Conservative politician. Early life Lowther was the only son of Capt. Francis William Lowther and Louise Beatrice de Fonblanque; Francis William was the illegitimate ...

with a swing of 6%. British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig) In 1909 he was appointed private secretary to the

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board ...

Harold Tennant Harold John Tennant PC (18 November 1865 – 9 November 1935), often known as Jack Tennant, was a Scottish Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland under his brother-in-law H. H. Asquith between July and December 1916. Backg ...

. The Liberal Party lost ground at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

, but Howard held his seat, and was appointed private secretary to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. Another General Election followed 11 months later but this time Howard lost his Eskdale seat to Claude Lowther. Out of Parliament, he was keen to make a return as soon as possible. In 1911 a vacancy occurred in the Westbury division of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

when the sitting Liberal MP resigned to take up a diplomatic appointment. Howard was chosen as the Liberal candidate for the resulting by-election and retained the seat with a slightly reduced majority. In 1911 Asquith appointed him Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a post he held until 1915. He then served as a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of t ...

from 1915 to 1916. In 1916 Asquith was replaced as Prime Minister by Lloyd George and went into opposition to the Coalition Government. Howard followed Asquith into opposition. As a result, when the Coalition was endorsing candidates for the 1918 General election, at Westbury, endorsement was given to his Unionist opponent George Palmer, who defeated Howard by a margin of 17%. At the 1922 general election, he sought a return to Parliament in his old stomping ground of Cumberland when he contested the unionist-held North Cumberland. However, he lost narrowly, by a margin of 1.6%. The next year, at the 1923 general election, Howard fought the

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

division of Bedfordshire. The Liberals were experiencing something of a revival nationally, which helped him win the seat from the sitting Unionist Sir John Prescott Hewett. Another general election followed a year later in 1924, and with the Unionists in the ascendency, he lost his seat. This effectively ended Howard's parliamentary career as he did not contest another parliamentary seat. Apart from his political career Howard was also a

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same ...

and a temporary lieutenant in the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who we ...

in 1914. In 1931 he became

Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire The post of Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire was created in 1660, at the Restoration, and was abolished on 31 March 1974. From 1782 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Lo ...

, which he remained until his death four years later.

Family

Howard married the Honourable Ethel Christian Methuen, daughter of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen Field Marshal Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen, (1 September 1845 – 30 October 1932) was a British Army officer. He served in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1873 and then in the expedition of Sir Charles Warren to Bechuanaland in th ...

, on 15 May 1915. They had five children, two daughters and three sons, including Dame Christian Howard and the

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe Major George Anthony Geoffrey Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe, JP (22 May 1920 – 27 November 1984) was a British politician, soldier and media man. Howard was a younger son of Geoffrey Howard and Ethel Christian Methuen, and grandson of ...

. His other two sons, Mark and Christopher, were both killed in action in 1944. Ethel Howard died in April 1932, aged 43. Howard died in June 1935, aged 58.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Geoffrey William Algernon 1877 births 1935 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Lord-Lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1923–1924 Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Younger sons of earls Geoffrey Howard Royal Navy officers of World War I