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Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane

 
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane

 
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Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane
 
 
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Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, KT
Order of the Thistle

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order....
, OM
Om

Om, often Aum, is a sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.Om is reputed to be the resonant vibrational tone of the non-dualistic universe as a whole....
, PC, FRS, FSA
Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is the world?s premier Learned Society for heritage. It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London in the United Kingdom, along with the Royal Academy and four other leading Learned Societies; the Linnean Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Geological Society of London and the Royal Astrono...
  (30 July 1856 - 19 August 1928), was an important British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats....
 and Labour
Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Left-wing politics in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently organised again....
 politician
Politician

A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
, lawyer
Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
, and philosopher.

Haldane was born in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, the son of Robert Haldane and his wife Mary Elizabeth Burdon-Sanderson.






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Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane Punch Cartoon Project Gutenberg Etext 16563
Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, KT
Order of the Thistle

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order....
, OM
Om

Om, often Aum, is a sacred syllable of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.Om is reputed to be the resonant vibrational tone of the non-dualistic universe as a whole....
, PC, FRS, FSA
Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is the world?s premier Learned Society for heritage. It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London in the United Kingdom, along with the Royal Academy and four other leading Learned Societies; the Linnean Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Geological Society of London and the Royal Astrono...
  (30 July 1856 - 19 August 1928), was an important British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats....
 and Labour
Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Left-wing politics in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently organised again....
 politician
Politician

A politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of politics or a person who influences the way a society is governed....
, lawyer
Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
, and philosopher.

Biography


Childhood and Family Background

Lord Haldane was born in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, the son of Robert Haldane and his wife Mary Elizabeth Burdon-Sanderson. He was the grandson of the Scottish evangelist James Alexander Haldane. His brother was respiratory physiologist John Scott Haldane, his nephew was JBS Haldane and his sister was the author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
 Elizabeth Haldane
Elizabeth Haldane

Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane was the first female Justice of the Peace in Scotland..Haldane was a social-welfare worker, an author and the sister of Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane and John Scott Haldane....
.

Haldane received his first education at the Edinburgh Academy
Edinburgh Academy

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school. It is self-governed and financed, though it remains subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education most recently in 2006....
 and at the Göttingen University and University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom....
 where he received first-class honors in Philosophy and as Gray scholar and Ferguson scholar in philosophy of the four Scottish Universities. After studying law in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, he was called to the bar in 1879 and was a very successful lawyer. Haldane remained a lifelong bachelor after his fiancée broke off their engagement.

In 1885 he was elected a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats....
 member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
 for Haddingtonshire
Haddingtonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Haddingtonshire was a county constituency represented in the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1918....
. In 1895, he helped found the London School of Economics
London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the University of London in London, England....
. He was also a member of the Coefficients dining club
Coefficients (dining club)

The Coefficients was a dining club founded in 1902 at a dinner given by the Fabian Society campaigners Sidney Webb and Beatrice Webb. It was a forum for the meeting of British socialist reformers and New Imperialism of the Edwardian period....
 of social reformers set up in 1902 by the Fabian
Fabian Society

The Fabian Society is a United Kingdom intellectual socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of Social democracy via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary means....
 campaigners Sidney and Beatrice Webb
Beatrice Webb

Martha Beatrice Webb was an English sociologist, economist, socialism and reformer, usually referred to in the same breath as her husband, Sidney Webb....
. In 1904 he was President of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club and gave the Toast to Sir Walter at the clubs annual dinner. In 1905, he was appointed Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War

The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a United Kingdom Cabinet -level position, first applied to Henry Dundas ....
 in Henry Campbell Bannerman's
Henry Campbell-Bannerman

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Order of the Bath was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Liberal Party statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 5 December 1905 until resigning due to ill health on 3 April 1908....
 administration. Haldane, a prominent Liberal Imperialist and close associate of Herbert Henry Asquith, was a strong advocate of British commitments on the continent, and took great steps in preparing the army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 for participation in a possible European war by establishing the British Expeditionary Force. His tenure also saw the creation of the Imperial General Staff, the Territorial Force
Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was a volunteer component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army....
, the Officer Training Corps, and the Special Reserve. He was given a peerage
Peerage

The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title....
 in 1911, becoming the Viscount Haldane. Upon Lord Loreburn's retirement in 1912, Haldane succeeded him as Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom....
, but was forced to resign in 1915, after being falsely accused of pro-German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 sympathies. The accusations were widely believed, even being echoed in a popular music hall song ("All dressed up and nowhere to go") in the revue "Mr Manhattan".

As the war progressed, Haldane moved increasingly close to the Labour Party but he was held back by his ties to the Liberal Party and to Asquith. It was not until the general election of 1923 that Haldane formally sided with Labour, and made several speeches on behalf of Labour
Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Left-wing politics in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently organised again....
 candidates. When the Labour government was formed by Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald

James Ramsay MacDonald was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He rose from humble origins to become the first Labour Party Prime Minister in 1924....
, Haldane was recruited to serve once again as Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom....
. He was also joint Leader of the Labour Peers with Lord Parmoor. Haldane was a vital member of the Cabinet
Labour Government 1924

See also First Labour Government Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.Source: D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000 ...
 as he was one of only three members who had sat in a cabinet before; the other two had sat only briefly and for junior posts.

Haldane also served as second Chancellor
Chancellor

Chancellor or chancellour is an official title used in countries whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman Empire....
 of the University of Bristol
University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. It received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876....
, and was elected Chancellor of the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413....
 shortly before his death. He died on 19 August 1928.

Writings

He co-translated the first English edition of Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer was a Germany philosopher known for his atheistic pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the fundamental question of whether reason alone can unlock answers about the world....
's The World as Will and Representation
The World as Will and Representation

The World as Will and Representation is the central work of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. It was published in December 1818....
, published between 1883 and 1886. He wrote several philosophical works, the best known of which is The Reign of Relativity (1921), which dealt with the philosophical
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 implications of the theory of relativity
Theory of relativity

File:spacetime curvature.pngThe theory of relativity, or simply relativity, generally refers specifically to two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity....
.

He was president of the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society

The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880 which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling Reform Association?"...
 from 1907 to 1908.

External links



See also

  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article by H. C. G. Matthew, Haldane, Richard Burdon, Viscount Haldane (1856–1928), online edn, May 2006 , accessed 28 Feb 2007.