Person Open DS/UK/2983 Asquith; 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, Lord; Herbert Henry (12 September 1852-15 February 1928); KG PC KC FRS; British statesman and Liberal politician Asquith Herbert Henry 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, Lord 12 September 1852-15 February 1928 British statesman and Liberal politician Male (cisgender) DS/UK/2028 Morley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England (born)

Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, England (died)

British Political Figure; Prime Minister, Liberal White No known disability No known religious affiliation Son of Joseph Dixon Asquith and Emily Willans Former spouse of Helen Melland Spouse of Margot Tennant (socialite and author) Father of Raymond Asquith (barrister, killed at the Somme 1916), Herbet Asquith (writer, married writer Cynthia Charteris), Arthur Asquith (soldier and businessman), Violet Bonham Carter (politican and writer), Cyril Asquith (barrister), Princess Antoine Bibesco (writer and socialite), Anthony Asquith (filmmaker) Great-grandfather of Helena Bonham Cater (actress), Dominic Asquith (High Commissioner to India) and Raymond Asquith (3rd Earl of Oxford and Asquith) Great-great-grandfather of Anna Chancellor (actress) Heterosexual Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC, FRS, generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last prime minister to lead a majority Liberal government, and he played a central role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation and a reduction of the power of the House of Lords. In August 1914, Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. In 1915, his government was vigorously attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties, but failed to satisfy critics. As a result, he was forced to resign in December 1916, and he never regained power. After attending Balliol College, Oxford, he became a successful barrister. In 1886 he was the Liberal candidate for East Fife, a seat he held for over thirty years. In 1892 he was appointed as Home Secretary in Gladstone's fourth ministry, remaining in the post until the Liberals lost the 1895 election. In the decade of opposition that followed Asquith became a major figure in the party, and when the Liberals regained power under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1905 Asquith was named Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1908 Asquith succeeded him as prime minister. The Liberals were determined to advance their reform agenda. An impediment to this was the House of Lords, which rejected the People's Budget of 1909. Meanwhile the South Africa Act 1909 passed. Asquith called an election for January 1910, and the Liberals won, though were reduced to a minority government. After another general election in December 1910 he gained passage of the Parliament Act 1911, allowing a bill three times passed by the Commons in consecutive sessions to be enacted regardless of the Lords. Asquith was less successful in dealing with Irish Home Rule. Repeated crises led to gun running and violence, verging on civil war. When Britain declared war on Germany in response to the German invasion of Belgium, high profile conflicts were suspended regarding Ireland and women's suffrage. Although more of a committee chair than a dynamic leader, he oversaw national mobilisation; the dispatch of the British Expeditionary Force to the Western Front, the creation of a mass army, and the development of an industrial strategy designed to support the country's war aims. The war became bogged down and the demand rose for better leadership. He was forced to form a coalition with the Conservatives and Labour early in 1915. He was weakened by his own indecision over strategy, conscription, and financing. Lloyd George replaced him as prime minister in December 1916. They became bitter enemies and fought for control of the fast-declining Liberal Party. His role in creating the modern British welfare state (1906–1911) has been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader after 1914 have been highlighted by historians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Asquith (2020) International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHhbryony 11/13/2012 RAHAKirkbride 11/7/2022 d917c5f9-4d7a-4f7d-85c2-a7b7ad2a2acf