Henry Peter Brougham

1778-1868

Was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. Born in Edinburgh, Brougham helped found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 before moving to London, where he qualified as a barrister in 1808. Elected to the House of Commons in 1810 as a Whig, he was Member of Parliament for a number of constituencies until becoming a peer in 1834. The highlights of Brougham's time in government were passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act but he was seen as dangerous, unreliable and arrogant. Charles Greville, who was Clerk of the Privy Council for 35 years, recorded his "genius and eloquence" was marred by "unprincipled and execrable judgement". Although retained when Lord Melbourne succeeded Grey in July 1834, the administration was replaced in November by Sir Robert Peel's Tories. When Melbourne became Prime Minister again in April 1835, he excluded Brougham, saying his conduct was one of the main reasons for the fall of the previous government. Brougham was never to hold office again. However, for more than thirty years after his fall he continued to take an active part in the judicial business of the House of Lords, and in its debates, having now turned fiercely against his former political associates, but continuing his efforts on behalf of reform of various kinds. He was the designer of the brougham, a four-wheeled, horse-drawn style of carriage that bears his name. Brougham's patronage made the renowned French seaside resort of Cannes very popular. He accidentally found the place in 1835, when it was little more than a fishing village on a picturesque coast and bought there a tract of land and built on it. His choice and his example made it the sanitorium of Europe. Owing to Brougham's influence the beachfront promenade at Nice became known as the Promenade des Anglais.