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Born in Edinburgh,
Brougham helped found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 before moving to
London, where he qualified as a barrister in 1808. Elected to the House
of Commons in 1810 as a Whig, he was Member of Parliament for various
constituencies until becoming a peer in 1830.
Brougham won popular renown for helping defeat the 1820 Pains and
Penalties Bill, an attempt by the widely disliked George IV to annul his
marriage to Caroline of Brunswick. He became an advocate of liberal
causes including abolition of the slave trade, free trade and
parliamentary reform. Appointed Lord Chancellor in 1830, he made a
number of reforms intended to speed up legal cases and established the
Central Criminal Court. He never regained government office after 1834
and although he played an active role in the House of Lords, he often
did so in opposition to his former colleagues.
Education was another area of interest. He helped establish the Society
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and University College London, as
well as holding some academic posts, including Rector, University of
Edinburgh. In later years he spent much of his time in the French town
of Cannes, making it a popular resort for the British upper-classes; he
died there in 1868.
The following
instructions were given by Lord Brougham to me, as his executor:—
“Before the Autobiography can be published, you must see that it is
arranged chronologically.
“If (writing from memory) I have made mistakes in dates, or in proper
names, let such be corrected; but the Narrative is to be printed, AS I
HAVE WRITTEN IT.
“I alone am answerable for all its statements, faults, and omissions. I
will have no Editor employed to alter, or rewrite what I desire shall be
published, as EXCLUSIVELY MY OWN
“Brougham, November 1867.”
In publishing Lord Brougham’s Autobiography, the above explicit
directions, have been scrupulously obeyed.
BROUGHAM & VAUX,
Brougham, January 1871.
The Life and Times of
Henry Lord Brougham
Written by himself in three volumes (1871)
Volume 1 |
Volume 2 |
Volume 3
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