F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
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The Right Honourable The Earl of Birkenhead GCSI PC KC |
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| Lord Chancellor | |
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In office 10 January 1919 – 19 October 1922 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | The Lord Finlay |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Cave |
| Secretary of State for India | |
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In office 6 November 1924 – 18 October 1928 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | The Lord Olivier |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Peel |
| Attorney-General | |
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In office 3 November 1915 – 10 January 1919 |
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| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Sir Edward Carson |
| Succeeded by | Sir Gordon Hewart |
| Solicitor-General | |
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In office 2 June 1915 – 8 November 1915 |
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| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Stanley Buckmaster |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Cave |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frederick Edwin Smith 12 July 1872 Birkenhead, Cheshire |
| Died | 30 September 1930 (aged 58) Grosvenor Gardens, London |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Eleanor Furneaux (m. 1901; his death 1930) |
| Children | Lady Eleanor Smith (1902–1945) Frederick Winston Furneaux-Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (1907–1975) Lady Pamela Smith (1915–1982) |
| Education |
University of Liverpool Wadham College, Oxford |
Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead GCSI PC KC 12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord Chancellor. He was a skilled orator, noted for his staunch opposition to Irish nationalism, his wit, pugnacious views, and hard living and drinking. He is perhaps best remembered today as Winston Churchill's greatest personal and political friend until Birkenhead's death at age fifty-eight from pneumonia caused by cirrhosis of the liver.
Smith was born in Birkenhead in Cheshire, the eldest son of Frederick Smith and Elizabeth Taylor.
He was educated at a dame school in the town, Sandringham School at Southport, then, (having failed entry exams to Harrow), at Birkenhead School from 1887 to 1889. After four terms at the University College of Liverpool, he went up to Wadham College, Oxford, in 1891, where he was a contemporary of the politician John Simon and the athlete C. B. Fry.
He became President of the Oxford Union, where a bust of him now stands. He obtained only a Second in Mods before switching to Law, in which he obtained a First. However, to his disappointment, he only obtained a Second in his Bachelor of Civil Law degree. After winning a Fellowship of Merton College in 1896, and also a lecturership at Oriel College, he taught law at Oxford until 1899, when he was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn, where the Birkenhead Award bears his name. The F.E. Smith Memorial Mooting Prizes commemorate him at Merton.
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