View source for Neville Chamberlain

{{More footnotes|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRS}}
| image = Chamberlain Neville.jpg
| caption = Chamberlain in 1921
| alt =
| office = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]]
| term_start = 28 May 1937
| term_end = 10 May 1940
| monarch = [[George VI]]
| predecessor = [[Stanley Baldwin]]
| successor = [[Winston Churchill]]
| office1 = [[Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of the Conservative Party]]
| term_start1 = 27 May 1937
| term_end1 = 9 October 1940
| predecessor1 = Stanley Baldwin
| successor1 = Winston Churchill
| module = {{collapsed infobox section begin |Cabinet offices
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
|office2 = [[Lord President of the Council]]
|term_start2 = 10 May 1940
|term_end2 = 3 October 1940
|primeminister2 = [[Winston Churchill]]
|predecessor2 = [[James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope|The Earl Stanhope]]
|successor2 = [[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|Sir John Anderson]]
|office3 = [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
|term_start3 = 5 November 1931
|term_end3 = 28 May 1937
|primeminister3 = {{unbulleted list
|[[Ramsay MacDonald]]
|Stanley Baldwin
}}
|predecessor3 = [[Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden|Philip Snowden]]
|successor3 = [[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon|Sir John Simon]]
|term_start4 = 27 August 1923
|term_end4 = 22 January 1924
|primeminister4 = Stanley Baldwin
|predecessor4 =Stanley Baldwin
|successor4 = Philip Snowden
|office5 = [[Minister of Health (United Kingdom)|Minister of Health]]
|term_start5 = 25 August 1931
|term_end5 = 5 November 1931
|primeminister5 = [[Ramsay MacDonald]]
|predecessor5 = [[Arthur Greenwood]]
|successor5 = [[Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet|Hilton Young]]
|term_start6 = 6 November 1924
|term_end6 = 4 June 1929
|primeminister6 = Stanley Baldwin
|predecessor6 = [[John Wheatley]]
|successor6 = Arthur Greenwood
|term_start7 = 7 March 1923
|term_end7 = 27 August 1923
|primeminister7 = {{unbulleted list
|[[Bonar Law]]
|Stanley Baldwin
}}
|predecessor7 = Sir [[Arthur Griffith-Boscawen]]
|successor7 = [[William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford|William Joynson-Hicks]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| module2 = {{collapsed infobox section begin |Parliamentary offices
|cont = yes
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
|embed = yes
|office1 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[Birmingham Edgbaston (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Edgbaston]]
|term_start1 = 30 May 1929
|term_end1 = 9 November 1940
|predecessor1 = [[Sir Francis Lowe, 1st Baronet|Sir Francis Lowe]]
|successor1 = [[Peter Bennett, 1st Baron Bennett of Edgbaston|Sir Peter Bennett]]
|office2 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[Birmingham Ladywood (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Ladywood]]
|term_start2 = 14 December 1918
|term_end2 = 10 May 1929
|predecessor2 = [[Representation of the People Act 1918|Constituency created]]
|successor2 = [[Wilfrid Whiteley]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
|birth_name = Arthur Neville Chamberlain
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1869|3|18}}
|birth_place = [[Edgbaston|Edgbaston, Birmingham]], England
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1940|11|9|1869|3|18}}
|death_place = [[Heckfield]], [[Hampshire]], England
|resting_place = [[Westminster Abbey]]
|party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|alma_mater = [[Mason College]]
|profession = [[Business]]
|parents = [[Joseph Chamberlain]] (father)
|spouse = {{marriage|[[Anne Chamberlain|Anne de Vere Cole]]|5 January 1911}}
|children = 2
|signature = Neville Chamberlain Signature 2.svg
|signature_alt = A neatly written "Neville Chamberlain"
}}
}}
'''Arthur Neville Chamberlain''' {{Postnominals|country=GBR|FRS}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|eɪ|m|b|ər|l|ɪ|n}}; 18 March 1869{{snd}}9 November 1940) was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[politician]] who was [[Lord Mayor]] of [[Birmingham]], [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] and finally [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] from 1937 to 1940.
== Early life ==
Neville was born in [[Edgbaston]], a district of [[Birmingham]], [[England]]. His father was [[Joseph Chamberlain]], an important politician. His half-brother (they had different mothers), [[Austen Chamberlain]], also became a politician.

Neville went to [[Rugby School]]. {{sfn|Smart|2010|pp=2–3}} He became interested in [[botany]] (plants), [[birds]] and [[fishing]]. He also loved [[music]] and [[literature]] (reading). He studied [[metallurgy]] at Mason College,{{sfn|Smart|2010|pp=5–6}} which his father later made part of the [[University of Birmingham]]. Later, Neville became an [[apprentice]] in an [[accounting]] company.{{sfn|Smart|2010|pp=6–8}}

He became a successful manager in a [[manufacture|manufacturing]] company. {{sfn|Smart|2010|p=33}} He fell in love with [[Anne Chamberlain|Anne Cole]] and married her in 1910, when was 40. {{sfn|Self|2006|pp=33–35}} In 1911, when he was 42, the people of Birmingham [[voting|elected]] (chose) Neville Chamberlain to be part of the [[council|city council]]. {{sfn|Smart|2010|p=53}} On the council, he had the job of planning [[improve|improving]] the city, the same kind of work that his father had done.{{sfn|Self|2006|pp=40–41}} Neville planned new [[council housing]] for [[poverty|poor people]].{{sfn|Self|2006|p=41}} In 1915, he became [[mayor|Lord Mayor]] of Birmingham, also  as his father had been. In that position, Neville worked to improve the city, including by starting the [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra|Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]].
== Member of Parliament and in government ==
In 1916, Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] asked Chamberlain to become the director of [[conscription]] to force [[civilian]]s to join the [[British Army]]s during the [[First World War]]. {{sfn|Smart|2010|p=67}} Chamberlain and Lloyd George often argued and soon did not like each other. {{sfn|Smart|2010|p=70}} Chamberlain left his job the next year. {{sfn|Smart|2010|pp=77–79}} Instead, he entered the 1918 [[general election]] and became the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Ladywood]] in Birmingham.

In 1923, Prime Minister [[Andrew Bonar Law]] made Chamberlain the health [[Minister (government)|minister]]. {{sfn|Self|2006|p=89}} In that position, Chamberlain did more work to help poor people. For example, he had a law passed to connect rent prices to how good a building was. He was later [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], in charge of the economy, for a short time. {{sfn|Smart|2010|pp=106–07}}

After the 1924 general election, he became health minister again, and he stayed there until the Conservatives lost the 1929 general election. Between 1924 and 1929, Chamberlain helped to make many new laws to help poor people, including a [[pension]]s system, which helped to make Britain's [[welfare state]] after the [[Second World War]].

In 1929, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] lost the general election, and [[Ramsay MacDonald]] became the new [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] prime minister. The Conservative Party was trying to put [[tariff]]s (taxes) on [[import]]s to make trade in the [[British Empire]] stronger. Other people, including [[Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook]], a businessman who owned a lot of newspapers, disagreed by saying that trade should be [[free trade|free of tariffs]]. Beaverbrook started a new [[political party]] to fight the Conservatives. Chamberlain fought Beaverbrook's part in an election and won. That made him very popular in the Conservative party.

An [[Great Depression|economic crisis]] in 1931 led to another general election. Then, Chamberlain became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]].  In 1932, he was able to start a tariff system. His father had spent a long time working for a stronger British Empire when he was [[foreign secretary]] and also worked hard but failed for a tariff system because he believed it would make the empire economically [[independence|independent]]. Neville was pleased that he had finally made his father's wishes come true.

By 1934, Chamberlain felt that the economy had recovered. However, many important people, including Chamberlain's half-brother Austen and [[Winston Churchill]], were warning that [[Nazi Germany]] was rearming (reuilding its [[military]]). The men said that Britain must rearm, too. In July 1934, the government told Parliament that it had a plan to make the [[Royal Air Force]] much stronger.

However, not everybody was happy to see an [[arms race]] (a [[competition|competition]] to build a bigger military) with Germany. The [[First World War]] was still in people's memories, and there was a  strong [[pacifism|pacifist]] movement in the country. Chamberlain, who had lost his cousin and best friend, Norman Chamberlain, during the war [[advise|advised]] (suggested) Prime Minister [[Stanley Baldwin]] to talk about rearmament during the 1935 general election. Baldwin was worried people  that would not [[voting|vote]] for them if they talked about making the military stronger, and Labour Party was strongly against rearmament. That made Baldwin talk about [[house|housing]] and [[unemployment]] instead.

Chamberlain worked hard to help improve the slow economy. The government bought factories that were not being used and spent money on making them new again. That idea helped after the war started because Britain had the most modern [[equipment]]. When he [[announce|announced]] (told the [[:public|public]] about) his [[budget]] (plan for the economy) in 1935, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] said that he wanted war, but other people still said that he was not doing enough to build the military. In 1936, the government announced plans to build the [[Royal Navy]].
== Prime Minister ==
Baldwin retired in 1937, and Chamberlain became the new prime minister on [[May 28|28 May]]. Chamberlain is mostly remembered for being the prime minister as [[Europe]] moved into the Second World War, but as prime minister, he also made some important changes to Britain. He made laws that made working [[condition|conditions]] better. He [[limit|limited]] working hours for women and children. He introduced [[paid holiday]] for a large part of the population. He introduced laws to try to improve the population's [[health]] by [[exercise|exercising]] and [[medicine|medical]] [[inspect|inspection]]. Many other changes were planned, but the start of the war stopped them from happening.

In the 1930s, the Irish [[taoiseach]] (similar to a prime minister) was [[Éamon de Valera]], who worked to make a new [[constitution]] (set of laws) for [[Ireland]] and wanted to make Ireland [[independence|independent]] from Britain. Ireland had its own [[government]], but Britain still controlled [[Northern Ireland]] and had [[navy|naval]] [[port]]s (called [[treaty port]]s) in Ireland, which de Valera wanted to end. Chamberlain wanted Ireland to support Britain if there was a war because he knew that without Irish help, defending the [[Atlantic Ocean]] would be more difficult. Chamberlain and his [[Secretary of State]], [[Malcolm MacDonald]], made an [[agreement]] to give the treaty ports back to Ireland, but they hoped that British [[warship]]s might use them in the war.

Many [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]], including [[Winston Churchill]], who had made the agreement to have the treaty ports in 1921, disagreed strongly with the plan. The agreement, together with a plan to limit the number of [[Jews]] moving into [[Palestine]], which was controlled by Britain, made Chamberlain unpopular with some people, even in his own party.
== Munich Agreement ==
[[File:MunichAgreement.jpg|thumb|Chamberlain returned home with Hitler's promise not to invade other countries.]]
Although many people warned about the threat of Nazi Germany, Chamberlain chose [[minister]]s who agreed with him and wanted to [[avoid|avoid]] another war. Chamberlain, like many other people of the same age, were very worried about war. They believed that people like [[Adolf Hitler]] were in power because their countries felt that their situation was [[unfair|unfair]]. The Germans felt that the [[Treaty of Versailles]], an agreement to end the [[First World War]], had been unfair. When [[Germany]] [[invasion|invaded]] (took control of) Austria and the [[Sudetenland]] (part of [[Czechoslovakia]] with many Germans), Chamberlain tried to keep the peace, especially since most people there were Germans and to wanted to become part of Germany.

In September 1938, he flew to [[Munich]] to speak with Hitler. Together with [[French Prime Minister]] [[Édouard Daladier]] and the [[Italy|Italian]] [[dictator]], [[Benito Mussolini]], Chamberlain made an agreement with Hitler, who was allowed to take the Sudetenland but had to agree not to use his [[military]] to [[solve|solve]] future [[dispute]]s (disagreements). When Chamberlain returned home, many people said he had done a wonderful job. Chamberlain was very pleased and said that the agreement meant "peace for our time" because most people feared another world war.
== War ==
In March 1939, the German military moved in and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, against the [[Munich Agreement]]. Chamberlain realised that his [[attempt|attempts]] to control Hitler had failed. He started to get Britain ready for war by using the new factories that had been built. Many new weapons were built, including the [[Supermarine Spitfire]] (a [[fighter aircraft]]) and [[radar]].

After the Germans invaded [[Poland]] on [[September 1|1st September]] [[1939]], the British and the French talked together and decided to [[Declaration of war|declare war]] on Germany on the 3rd. Chamberlain spoke on the radio and told the British people that war had begun.

Chamberlain made a new government and included [[Winston Churchill]]. After the Germans had invaded [[Norway]] in April 1940, the British sent the [[Royal Navy]] to fight them. The plan failed, however, and [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] no longer supported Chamberlain even though Churchill was mostly to blame for the failure. On 10 May 1940, Chamberlain [[resign|resigned]] (quit), and Churchill became the prime minister. However, Chamberlain stayed in the government. Later in May, Germany offered [[condition|conditions]] for peace (things that they would accept to stop fighting). Most of the government, including Chamberlain, wanted to agree with Germany and to stop fighting. Churchill did not want to agree. He spoke with Chamberlain, who soon began to agree with Churchill. The result was that Britain stayed in the war.
== Death ==
In the summer of 1940, Chamberlain became [[sick]]. In July, he had [[surgery]] on his [[stomach]] to treat [[cancer]] there. He tried to return to work but became too weak and so had to retire. He died on 9 November 1940 of [[intestine|bowel]] cancer and was 71 years old. Churchill spoke to Parliament to tell it about Chamberlain's death.
== Legacy ==
Historians disagree about Chamberlain. Some think that his actions were wrong because he did not stop Hitler and Germany. Other people say that he gave Britain and France more time to get ready for the war.
== Biographies ==
* Dilks, David. ''Neville Chamberlain, volume 1: Pioneering and Reform, 1869-1929'' Cambridge University Press, 1984.
* Dutton, David. ''Neville Chamberlain''. Hodder Arnold, 2001
* [[Keith Feiling|Feiling, Keith]]. ''The Life of Neville Chamberlain''. Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1946.
* [[Martin Gilbert|Gilbert, Martin]]. ''The Roots of Appeasement''. New American Library, 1966.
* Self, Robert. ''Neville Chamberlain: A Biography''. Ashgate, 2006
* [[John Wheeler-Bennett|Wheeler-Bennett, John]] ''Munich : Prologue to Tragedy'', New York : Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948.
* ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''

== Neville Chamberlain Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Jchamberlain-achamberlain.jpg|[[Joseph Chamberlain]] (seated) and [[Austen Chamberlain]], 1892

File:Hughes and Chamberlain - crop.jpg|Chamberlain as [[Lord Mayor of Birmingham]] in May 1916, alongside Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] of Australia

File:Neville Chamberlain by William Orpen - 1929.jpg|Portrait by [[William Orpen]], 1929

File:INF3-46 Neville Chamberlain Artist Wooding.jpg|Caricature of Chamberlain, {{circa|1940}}

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H12967, Münchener Abkommen, Chamberlain.jpg|Chamberlain arrives in Munich, September 1938.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H12486, Vorbereitung Münchener Abkommen, Chamberlain auf dem Flugplatz Oberwiesenfeld.jpg|Chamberlain (centre, hat and umbrella in hands) walks with German foreign minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] (right) as the Prime Minister leaves for home after the Berchtesgaden meeting, 16 September 1938. On the left is [[Alexander von Dörnberg]].

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H12751, Godesberg, Vorbereitung Münchener Abkommen.jpg|Chamberlain (left) and Hitler leave the Bad Godesberg meeting, 23 September 1938.

File:Munich Agreement Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173.jpg|From left to right, Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Italian foreign minister Count [[Galeazzo Ciano]] as they prepare to sign the [[Munich Agreement]]

File:David Lloyd George.jpg|[[David Lloyd George]], prime minister 1916–22, whose contempt for Chamberlain was reciprocated
</gallery>
== Notes ==
<references/>
== References ==
* {{cite book
| last = Self
| first = Robert
| year = 2006
| title = Neville Chamberlain: A Biography
| url = https://archive.org/details/nevillechamberla0000self
| publisher = Ashgate
| isbn = 978-0-7546-5615-9
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Smart
| first = Nick
| year = 1999
| title = The National Government
| url = https://archive.org/details/nationalgovernme0000smar
| publisher = St Martin's Press
| isbn = 978-0-312-22329-8
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Smart
| first = Nick
| year = 2010
| title = Neville Chamberlain
| url = https://archive.org/details/nevillechamberla0000smar
| publisher = Routledge
| isbn = 978-0-415-45865-8
}}
== Other websites ==
* [http://www.special-coll.bham.ac.uk University of Birmingham Special Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828141622/http://www.special-coll.bham.ac.uk/ |date=2009-08-28 }}&mdash;the political papers of Neville Chamberlain
* [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page135.asp Downing Street website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611110544/http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page135.asp |date=2008-06-11 }}
* [https://archive.org/details/TheStruggleForPeace ''The Struggle for Peace'' by Neville Chamberlain]

{{UKPrimeMinisters|Chamberlain, Neville}}
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