William Henry Smith, FRS (24 June 1825 – 6 October 1891) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

bookseller and newsagent of the family firm

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

, who expanded the firm and introduced the practice of selling books and newspapers at railway stations. He was elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in 1868 and rose to the position of

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

less than ten years thereafter. Because of his lack of naval experience, he was perceived as a model for the character Sir Joseph Porter in ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

''. In the mid-1880s, he was twice

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, and later

First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...

and

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of the ...

, among other posts.

Background and business career

The son of

William Henry Smith (1792–1865) William Henry Smith (7 July 1792 – 28 July 1865) was a British entrepreneur whose business included both newsagents and book shops. He was born in Little Thurlow, Suffolk, but ran his business in London, where he died. The family business e ...

, Smith was born in London. He was educated at

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...

Grammar School before joining his father's newsagent and book business in 1846, at which time the firm became W H Smith & Son. Both men took advantage of the railway boom by opening news-stands on

railway stations A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

, starting with Euston in 1848. In 1850 the firm opened depots in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The business became a household name (

), and Smith junior used the success of the firm as a springboard into politics. In February 1878, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Political career

In 1868, Smith was elected

for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

after an initial attempt to get into Parliament as a "

Liberal Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

" in 1865 as a supporter of Prime Minister

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

. In 1874, Smith was appointed Financial Secretary to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

when

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

returned as

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 not ...

. In 1877, he became

even though he never went to sea throughout his life. It has been claimed that Smith's appointment was the inspiration for the character of Sir Joseph Porter, KCB, in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's 1878

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, ''

''. Gilbert had written to Sullivan in December 1877, "The fact that the First Lord in the opera is a ''Radical'' of the most pronounced type will do away with any suspicion that W. H. Smith is intended". However, the character was seen as a reflection on Smith, and even Disraeli was overheard to refer to his First Lord as "Pinafore Smith". It has been suggested that the Pinafore character was as much based on Smith's controversial predecessor as First Lord,

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancello ...

, as on Smith himself.Carr, ''rev'' Matthew. Childers, Hugh. ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Smith held the office for three years until the Liberals returned to power. In 1885, a redistribution of seats led to Smith now standing for the Strand division in Westminster, and he served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

for a short period the following year. He was twice

, the first time during

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

's brief ministry between 1885 and 1886, and the second when the Conservatives won the 1886 general election. He succeeded this appointment in 1887 as

and

and became

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

in 1891. He died shortly afterwards at

Walmer Castle Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device Forts, Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the H ...

, Kent, and his widow was created Viscountess Hambleden in his honour and took the title from the village close to the Smiths' country house of Greenlands, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. One of the few ministers personally close to Lord Salisbury (apart from the Salisbury's nephew,

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...

), Smith was dubbed "Old Morality" because of his austere manner and conduct.

Family

Smith married Emily, daughter of Frederick Dawes Danvers, in 1858. They had two sons and four daughters: * Mabel Danvers Smith (d. 1956; she married the 5th Earl of Harrowby) *Emily Anna Smith (1859–1942; she married Admiral William Acland) *Helen Smith (1860–1944) *Beatrice Danvers Smith (1864–1942) *Henry Walton Smith (1865–1866) * William Frederick Danvers Smith (1868–1928) He died in October 1891, aged 66. The following month, his widow was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

in his honour as Viscountess Hambleden, of

Hambleden Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, and around north-east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The civil parish also includes the villages of Fingest and ...

in the County of Buckingham. She died in August 1913 and was succeeded by her and Smith's only surviving son, Frederick. Image:Our New First Lord at Sea.png, ''Pinafore'' did not begin the mockery of Smith: This ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' cartoon is from 13 October 1877, months before the première of ''Pinafore''. Image:William Henry Smith (politician) and Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury - Cartoon from Punch - 1891 - Project Gutenberg eText 14808.png, A Long Distance Swim, ''W. H. Smith: "Hooray – another stroke or two and we've done it." File:Emily, 1st Vicountess Hambleden, and her daughter, by Richard Buckner.jpg, Emily, 1st Vicountess Hambleden, and her daughter ( Richard Buckner) File:Memorial to a distinguished man within St Mary's, Portsea - geograph.org.uk - 1379034.jpg, Memorial in St Mary's Portsea

Endnotes

Bibliography

* *

External links