John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (7 January 18268 April 1902), known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal politician. He held office in every Liberal administration from 1852 to 1895, notably as

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

and as Foreign Secretary.

Early life and education

Kimberley was born in 1826 in

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...

, Norfolk, the eldest son of the Hon. Henry Wodehouse (1799–1834) and grandson of John Wodehouse, 2nd Baron Wodehouse. His mother was Anne Gurdon (d. 1880), daughter of Theophilus Thornhagh Gurdon. In 1846 he succeeded his grandfather as third Baron Wodehouse. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he took a first-class degree in classics in 1847.

Early career (1852–1874)

He was by inheritance a Liberal in politics, and in 1852–1856 and 1859–1861 he was

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. T ...

in Lord Aberdeen's and Lord Palmerston's ministries. In the interval (1856–1858) he had been envoy-extraordinary to Russia; and in 1863 he was sent on a special mission to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in the hope of finding a solution to the

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

question. However, the mission was a failure. In 1864 Kimberley became Under-Secretary of State for India, but towards the end of the year was made

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. In that capacity, he had to grapple with the first manifestations of

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

ism, and in recognition of his services, he was created Earl of Kimberley in 1866. In July 1866 he vacated his office with the fall of Lord Russell's ministry, but in 1868 he became

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

in Gladstone's cabinet, and in July 1870 was transferred from that post to be

. It was the moment of the great diamond discoveries in southern Africa, and the town of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

was named after him. Lord Kimberley was credited with the change in British policy towards the independent Malay states that led to the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, after which British political agents known as Residents were placed in the Malay states as advisors to the rulers.

Later career (1875–1902)

After an interval in opposition from 1874 to 1880, Lord Kimberley returned to the Colonial Office in Gladstone's next ministry. He was in that office when responsible government was granted to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

was added to the

Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...

and during the

First Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...

. At the end of 1882 he exchanged this office first for that of

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

and then for the secretaryship of state for India, a post he retained during the remainder of Gladstone's tenure of power (1882–1885, 1886, 1892–1894), though in 1892–1894 he combined with it that of the lord presidency of the council. In Lord Rosebery's cabinet (1894–1895) he was Foreign Secretary. During this time he signed the landmark Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation.

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the Fir ...

who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary under Kimberley at the Foreign Office portrays him unfavourably as prolix and prone to irrelevant digressions in conversation although ''concise, definite and clear'' on paper. However, according to the

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...

, "As leader of the Liberal party in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

he acted with undeviating dignity, and in opposition, he was a courteous antagonist and a critic of weight and experience".

Other public positions

On 5 April 1850, he joined the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...

, formed to establish a colony (in the later

Canterbury Region Canterbury () is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current form was estab ...

) on the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. Lord Kimberley took interest in education, and after being for many years a member of the senate of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, he became its chancellor in 1899.

Family

Lord Kimberley married Lady Florence FitzGibbon (d. 1895), daughter of Richard FitzGibbon, 3rd Earl of Clare, on 16 August 1847. They had three children: * John Wodehouse, 2nd Earl of Kimberley (10 Dec 1848 – 7 Jan 1932) *Lady Alice Wodehouse (17 Dec 1850 – 8 Jan 1937) married Hussey Packe, son of George Hussey Packe, on 14 August 1872. They had two children, Sir Edward, and Florence, the wife of Lt.-Col. Cuthbert James. *Hon. Armine Wodehouse (24 Sep 1860 – 1 May 1901) He died at 35 Lowndes Square in London (now the High Commission of Pakistan) on 8 April 1902, aged 76, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, John. His more distant relatives include the writer

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

Ancestry

Memorials

The following places were named after the 1st Earl of Kimberley: * the

region of Western Australia; *

, a town in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and; * Kimberley, New Zealand, a hamlet of in the Selwyn District. * Kimberley Road and Kimberley Street in Hong Kong * Kimberley Street,

George Town, Penang George Town is the capital of the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. It is the core city of the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia's List of cities and towns in Malaysia by population#Largest metropolitan are ...

, Malaysia * Kimberley Park,

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

* County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia.

Notes

References

* * Burke and Burke (1847)
''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland''
volume 1 (London: Henry Colburn). * Burke, J.B. (1858)
''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland''
(London: Harrison). * Hunter, J. and Clay, J.W. (ed.) (1895)
''Familiae Minorum Gentium''
volume 3. (London: Harleian Society). * Cokayne, G.E. (1892)
''Complete Peerage''
1st edition, volume 4 (London: George Bell and Sons; Exeter: William Pollard & Co.) * Collins, A. (1779). ooks.google.co.uk/books?id=zfk-AQAAMAAJ ''The Peerage of England'' 5th edition, volume 6. * Crisp, F.A. (1911)
''Visitation of England and Wales: Notes''
volume 9 (printed privately). * Wright, T. (1836)
''The History and Topography of the County of Essex''
volume 1. * Wroth, W.W. (1895). "Norris, John (1754-1777)", ''Dictionary of National Biography'', volume 41. Attribution: *

External links

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John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (7 January 18268 April 1902), known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He held office in every Liberal administration from 1852 to 1895, notably ...

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