Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne

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Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne (November 27, 1812 – May 4, 1895), Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, was called to the bar in 1837 and entered parliament as a Conservative in 1847. Palmer soon became a Liberal, however, and served Palmerston and Russell as Solicitor General for England and Wales (1861-1863) and Attorney General for England and Wales (1863-1866).

He was born at Mixbury in Oxford County, studied at Rugby and Winchester, graduated in 1834 from Oxford after a brilliant career there, and received his master's degree in 1836. He soon became known for his keen and subtle mind and his vast learning.

Under Gladstone, he became Lord Chancellor in 1872 and was created Baron Selborne. His first tenure in the office saw the passage of the Judicature Act of 1873, which completely reorganized the judiciary. He served in the same office in Gladstone's Second Cabinet (1880-1885), and was created Earl of Selborne and Viscount Wolmer in 1882. He broke with Gladstone, however, over Irish Home Rule, in 1885, and joined the Liberal Unionists.

His son, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, later became a prominent Unionist politician.

[edit] Publications

• Selborne Memorials (London, 1896-98)

[edit] Other Achievements

Academic Offices
Preceded by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, Dean of Westminster	Rector of the University of St Andrews 1877 - 1880	Succeeded by Sir Theodore Martin
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Hatherley	Lord Chancellor 1872–1874	Succeeded by The Lord Cairns
Preceded by The Earl Cairns	Lord Chancellor 1880–1885	Succeeded by The Lord Halsbury
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Earl of Selborne 1882–1895	Succeeded by William Palmer