Edward Harold Spender (22 June 1864 – 15 April 1926), was a British Liberal Party politician, author, journalist and lecturer.

Background

He was the son of Dr John Kent Spender and his wife Lillian Spender, and

John Alfred Spender John Alfred Spender CH (23 December 1862 – 21 June 1942) was a British journalist and author. He also edited the London newspaper ''The Westminster Gazette'' from 1896 to 1922. Early life Spender was the eldest of four sons born to John Kent ...

was his brother. He was educated at Bath College where he was Head Boy from 1882–83. Exhibitioner of

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

. 1st in Mods. 1884; 1st. in Lit. Hum. 1887; MA. Harold was a friend of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

, with whom he went hiking, and travelled to Germany. He married, in 1904, Violet Hilda Schuster. They had three sons,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, Stephen,

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

and one daughter, Christine. His wife died in 1921. After his death Stephen and Christine were raised in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

by a governess.

Professional career

He was on the staff of the '' Echo'' from 1887–89. He was Lecturer for Oxford University Extension Delegacy from 1889–92. He was on the staff of the '' Pall Mall Gazette'' from 1891–93, the '' Westminster Gazette'' from 1893–95, the '' Daily Chronicle'' from 1895–99, the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' from 1899–1900 and the '' Daily News'' from 1900–14. During the war he gave himself up to war savings propaganda, volunteering, and other war activities from 1914–18.

Political career

He was Liberal candidate for the

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Division of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

at the 1922 General Election.

Family

He married Violet Hilda Schuster (1878–1921), daughter of Ernest Joseph Schuster (1850–1924), barrister, and his wife, Hilda Weber, daughter of Sir Herman Weber, a German-born doctor who became a naturalised British subject. Harold and Violet's children included the poet Stephen, the explorer

, and

Humphrey Spender Humphrey Spender (19 April 1910 – 11 March 2005) was a British photographer, painter, and designer. Family and education Humphrey Spender was the third son of Harold Spender, a journalist and writer. Humphrey's mother, Violet Schuster, came ...

, a photojournalist and artist.

Publications

*Story of the Home Rule Session, 1893 *At the Sign of the Guillotine, 1895 *Through the High Pyrenees, 1898 *The Arena, 1906 *Home Rule, 1912 *In Praise of Switzerland, 1912 *The Call of the Siren, 1913 *One Man Returns, 1914 *The Flame of Daring, 1915 *The Dividing Sword, 1916 *The Man Who Went, 1919 *A Briton in America, 1921 *Byron and Greece, 1924 *Men and Mansions, 1924 *The Cauldron of Europe, 1925 He had published three biographies; *

Herbert Henry 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 (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

, 1915 * General Botha, 1916 * David Lloyd George, 1920

References

External links

* * * * Portraits of Spender at the National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp76021/harold-spender {{DEFAULTSORT:Spender, Harold 1864 births 1926 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford British male journalists Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates