Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) was the third generation of his family to hold high political office in Britain. He was prime minister from 1937 to 1940 and pursued a policy of appeasement with Germany, buying time whilst the country prepared for the coming war. He declared war on Germany on September 3rd 1939.
Chamberlain's father, Sir Austen Chamberlain (1836-1914), was foreign secretary 1924-29 and awarded a Nobel peace prize for his negotiation of the Locarno Pact (1925). His grandfather, Joseph (1836-1914) was originally a Liberal but he resigned from the party in 1886 over Home Rule for Ireland and became leader of the Liberal Unionists and advocated development of preferential trading relationships for the British …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 November 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1618, accessed 23 November 2024.]
