Churchill, Randolph Henry Spencer

Churchill, Randolph Henry Spencer, usually called Lord Randolph Churchill (1849-1895), British statesman, born at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, and educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford. Churchill entered the House of Commons as a Conservative in 1874 and was a passive member until 1880, when the Conservative defeat roused him to action as leader of the so-called Fourth party, a small band of independents of the Conservative and Tory parties. They advocated a progressive programme for the Conservative party known as “Tory democracy”. Churchill distinguished himself as a ready unconventional debater, attracting particular attention by his criticism of the foreign and domestic policy of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. When the Conservatives returned to power in 1885, Churchill became Secretary of State for India. His period of office was marked by the annexation of Burma. For six months in 1886 he was Leader of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Exchequer, but he resigned because he opposed increased military expenditures. Thereafter he was inactive in public life. In 1874 Churchill married the American heiress Jennie Jerome. Their son, Winston Churchill, was Prime Minister during and after World War II.