On This Day
02 July 1914
Death in London of Joseph Chamberlain
Chamberlain (1836-1914), the Birmingham Radical who revolutionised the role of local government to intervene in social affairs, set out an ‘Unauthorised Programme’ of welfare and educational reforms which arguably pre-figured the ‘New Liberalism’ of the 1890s/1900s, split the Liberal Party over Irish Home Rule, became a great Imperial champion and went on to split the Unionists on the issue of Tariff Reform. Chamberlain represented Birmingham, later Birmingham West in the House of Commons from 1876-1914 and left a legacy of monuments in his name in the city, as well as being a leading figure in the creation of Birmingham University. He suffered a stroke in 1906 which left him much diminished but his sons, Austen and Neville, carried the family name further into 20th century British history.