1ST

EARL OF

See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)

JOHN WODEHOUSE

See also:

• KIMBERLEY
• 1ST EARL OF JOHN WODEHOUSE KIMBERLEY (1826-1902)

KIMBERLEY (1826-1902)  , English statesman, was born on the 7th of January 1826, being the eldest son of the Hon . Henry Wodehouse and grandson of the 2nd Baron Wodehouse (the barony dating from 1797), whom he succeeded in 1846 . He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he took a first-class degree in classics in 1847; in the same year married Lady Florence Fitzgibbon (d . 1895), daughter of the last earl of Clare . He was by inheritance a Liberal in politics, and in 1852-1856 and 1859-1861 he was under secretary of state for foreign affairs in Lord Aberdeen's and Lord Palmerston's ministries . In the interval (1856-1858) he had been envoy-extraordinary to Russia; and in 1863 he was sent on a special mission to Copenhagen on the forlorn hope of finding a peaceful solution of the Schleswig-Holstein question . The mission was a failure, but probably nothing else was possible . In 1864 he became under secretary for India, but towards the end of the year was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland . In that capacity he had to grapple with the first manifestations of Fenianism, and in recognition of his vigour and success he was created (1866) earl of Kimberley . In July 1866 he vacated his office with the fall of Lord Russell's ministry, but in 1868 he became Lord Privy Seal in Mr Glad-stone's cabinet, and in July 1870 was transferred from that post to be secretary of state for the colonies . It was the moment of the great diamond discoveries in South Africa, and the new town of Kimberley was named after the colonial secretary of the day . After an interval of opposition from 1874 to 1880, Lord Kimberley returned to the Colonial Office in Mr Gladstone's next ministry; but at the end of 1882 he exchanged this office first for that of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and then for the secretaryship of state for India, a post he retained during the remainder of Mr Gladstone's tenure of power (1882-1886, 1892-1894), though in 1892-1894 he combined with it that of the lord presidency of the council .

In Lord

Rosebery's cabinet (1894-1895) he was foreign secretary . Lord Kimberley was an admirable departmental chief, but it is difficult to associate his own personality with any ministerial act during his occupation of all these posts . He was at the colonial office when responsible government was granted to Cape Colony, when British Columbia was added to the Dominion of Canada, and during the Boer War of 1880-81, with its conclusion at Majuba; and he was foreign secretary when the misunderstanding arose with Germany over the proposed lease of territory from the Congo Free State for the Cape to Cairo route . He was essentially a loyal Gladstonian party man . His moderation, common sense, and patriotism had their influence, nevertheless, on his colleagues . As leader of the Liberal party in the House of Lords he acted with undeviating dignity; and in opposition he was a courteous antagonist and a critic of weight and experience . He took considerable interest in education, and after being for many years a member of the senate of London University, he became its chancellor in 1899 . He died in London on the 8th of April 1902, being succeeded in the earldom by his eldest and only surviving son, Lord Wodehouse (b . 1848) .