Hugh Childers
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The Right Honourable Hugh Childers |
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|---|---|
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| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
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In office 9 August 1872 – 30 September 1873 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Dufferin |
| Succeeded by | John Bright |
| Secretary of State for War | |
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In office 28 April 1880 – 16 December 1882 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Frederick Stanley |
| Succeeded by | Marquess of Hartington |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
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In office 16 December 1882 – 9 June 1885 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Succeeded by | Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt |
| Home Secretary | |
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In office 6 February 1886 – 25 July 1886 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | R. A. Cross |
| Succeeded by | Henry Matthews |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 June 1827 London, UK |
| Died |
29 January 1896 (aged 68) London, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Walker (d. 1875) |
| Alma mater | |
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British-Australian Liberal 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 Chancellor of the Exchequer, his attempt to correct a budget shortfall led to the fall of the Liberal government led by William Ewart Gladstone.
Childers was born in London, the son of Reverend Eardley Childers and his wife Maria Charlotte (née Smith), sister of Sir Culling Eardley, 3rd Baronet and granddaughter of Sampson Eardley, 1st Baron Eardley. He was educated at Cheam School under Pestalozzi and then both Wadham College, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. from the latter in 1850. Influential on his intellectual development was Adam Smith's theories of free trade, and capital returns.
Childers then decided to seek a career in Australia and on 26 October 1850 arrived in Melbourne, Victoria along with his wife Emily Walker.
Childers joined the government of Victoria and served as Inspector of Denominational schools (meaning Protestant schools) and immigration agent. In 1852 he became a director of the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Co. Childers became auditor-general on 26 October 1852 and was nominated to the Victorian Legislative Council. In 1852 he placed a bill before the state legislature proposing the establishment of a second university for Victoria, following the foundation of the University of Sydney in 1850. With the receipt of the Royal Assent in 1853, the University of Melbourne was founded, with Childers as its first vice-chancellor. Childers was Collector of Customs from 5 Dec 1853 to 28 November 1855 and Commissioner of Trade & Customs 28 November 1855 to 25 February 1857. Childers was elected to the inaugural Victorian Legislative Assembly for Portland in November 1856, a seat he held until resigning in February 1857.
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