Biography
Peel was born in 1788, the son of a wealthy textile manufacturer and MP. He was educated at Harrow and at Christ Church, Oxford, where in 1808 he became the first student to take a double first in classics and mathematics. He entered the House of Commons in 1809 and was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1812 to 1818.
As Home Secretary in the 1820s he reformed and eased the criminal law, and his Metropolitan Police Act 1829 created London's Metropolitan Police, whose officers were nicknamed "bobbies" and "peelers". Having long opposed Catholic emancipation, he changed his position and supported the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.
He was briefly prime minister in 1834 and 1835 and issued the Tamworth Manifesto, which set out the principles of the modern Conservative Party. In 1839 his demand that Queen Victoria replace some of her Whig ladies-in-waiting led to the Bedchamber crisis, and he did not take office until after the 1841 election.
His second government cut tariffs, introduced an income tax and reformed banking. After the Irish famine began, he joined Whigs and Radicals to repeal the Corn Laws in 1846, which split his party and forced his resignation. He led the Peelite group until his death in 1850.
Offices held
Henry Addington Succeeded by
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
2 terms
- Jan 17, 1822 – Apr 10, 1827 Preceded by Henry Addington Succeeded by William Sturges Bourne
- Jan 26, 1828 – Nov 22, 1830 Preceded by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne Succeeded by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Succeeded by
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
3 terms
- Apr 1, 1827 – Jan 1, 1828 Preceded by Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey Succeeded by John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer
- Nov 1, 1830 – Nov 1, 1834 Preceded by John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer Succeeded by John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
- Apr 18, 1835 – Aug 30, 1841 Preceded by John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Succeeded by John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Succeeded by
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
2 terms
- Dec 10, 1834 – Apr 8, 1835 Preceded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Succeeded by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
- Aug 30, 1841 – Jun 29, 1846 Preceded by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne Succeeded by John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer Succeeded by
Thomas Spring Rice, 1st Baron Monteagle of Brandon
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Military service
Affiliations
Education
- from Jan 1, 1800 Harrow School
- Jan 1, 1805 – Jan 1, 1808 Christ Church, Oxford double first in classics and mathematics
Party membership
- Jan 1, 1809 – Jan 1, 1834 Tories (British political party)
- Jan 1, 1846 – Jul 2, 1850 Peelites leader of the Peelites
- Conservative Party (UK)
