Henry Campbell-Bannerman

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908

Born: September 7, 1836  ·  Died: April 22, 1908

Famous Persons
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Image via Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia.

Who was Henry Campbell-Bannerman?

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 1836 – 22 April 1908) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He remains the only person to date to hold the positions of Prime Minister and Father of the House at the same time, and the last Liberal leader to gain a UK parliamentary majority. He also was Secretary of State for War twice, in the cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery. Known colloquially as "CB", Campbell-Bannerman firmly believed in free trade, Irish Home Rule and the improvement of social conditions, including reduced working hours. Following a general-election defeat in 1900, Campbell-Bannerman went on to lead the Liberal Party to a landslide victory over the Conservative Party at the 1906 general election – the last election in which the Liberals gained an overall majority in the House of Commons.

Campbell-Bannerman caricatured by Spy for Vanity Fair, 1899
Campbell-Bannerman caricatured by Spy for Vanity Fair, 1899
Advertisement

Historical significance

He was the first First Lord of the Treasury to be officially called the "Prime Minister", the term only coming into official usage five days after he took office. A. J. A. Morris, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, called him "Britain's first and only Radical prime minister".

Campbell-Bannerman in 1904
Campbell-Bannerman in 1904
Advertisement

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Wikipedia source
Cite this page
MLA

“Henry Campbell-Bannerman.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/henry-campbell-bannerman/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

Henry Campbell-Bannerman. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/henry-campbell-bannerman/

Chicago

“Henry Campbell-Bannerman.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/henry-campbell-bannerman/.

Found an error? Let us know.