The early life, business career and political rise of Neville Chamberlain culminated on 28 May 1937, when he was summoned to Buckingham Palace to "kiss hands" and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Chamberlain was born in 1869; his father was the politician Joseph Chamberlain. After a period in a firm of chartered accountants, Neville Chamberlain spent six years in the Bahamas managing a sisal plantation. Returning to England in 1897, he became a successful businessman, and Lord Mayor, in his home city of Birmingham. He was elected to the House of Commons aged 49 in 1918, the oldest man at first election to Parliament to become prime minister. After four years on the backbenches, he saw rapid promotion, becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer after less than a year as a minister. He spent five years as Minister of Health, securing the passage of many reforming acts. After two years in opposition, he became part of Ramsey MacDonald's National Government, and spent another five years as Chancellor. Chamberlain had long been regarded as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's political heir, and when Baldwin announced his retirement, Chamberlain was seen as the only possible successor.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_Neville_Chamberlain
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1774:
The publication of The Sorrows of Young Werther raised the 24 -year-old Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to international fame. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther
1829:
The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, originally headquartered in Great Scotland Yard, Westminster, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police_Service
1923:
The British Mandate for Palestine came into effect, officially creating the protectorates of Palestine as a Jewish homeland under British administration and Transjordan as a separate emirate under Abdullah I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_for_Palestine_(legal_instrument)
1957:
An explosion at the Soviet nuclear reprocessing plant Mayak released 74 to 1850 PBq of radioactive material. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster
1963:
The University of East Anglia was founded in Norwich, England, after talk of establishing such a university in the city began as early as the 19th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_East_Anglia
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
abnegate: 1. To deny oneself (something), to renounce or give up (a right, power, claim, privilege or convenience). 2. To deny, to reject (something, for example a truth or a commonly-held belief). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abnegate
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Time ripens all things. No man is born wise. --Miguel de Cervantes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes