Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908)

Prime Minister, 1905-1908

Henry Campbell studied at the University of Glasgow and Trinity College, Cambridge before joining the family firm in 1860. Later that year he married Charlotte Bruce in London and became Campbell-Bannerman on inheriting his uncle's estate in 1871. He was elected as a radical Liberal MP for Stirling Burghs in November 1868, appointed financial secretary in 1871 and later secretary of state for war in the cabinets of William Gladstone and Lord Rosebery. He succeeded them as leader of the Liberal Party in February 1899. Following the resignation of Arthur James Balfour as Prime Minister in 1905 Henry Campbell-Bannerman was asked to form a government. He led his party to a landslide victory in the general election of 1906 and was Prime Minister until his resignation due to ill health. He died at 10 Downing Street on 20 April 1908. The Campbell-Bannermans spent time each year at Belmont Castle in Perthshire which they had bought and refurbished. They are buried in Meigle churchyard nearby.

Birth in 1836

Henry Campbell was born on 7 September 1836, the son of James Campbell, merchant in Kelvinside, and Janet Bannerman. The entry in the Old Parish Register for Barony shows he was their sixth child and the witnesses to the baptism were John and William Campbell.

Birth and baptism entry for Henry Campbell-Bannerman (15 KB jpeg)
National Records of Scotland, OPR 622/10, page 214