author
Earl of Frederick Edwin Smith Birkenhead
1872–1930
A brilliant courtroom advocate and one of the sharpest political speakers of his age, he rose from Liverpool law to the very top of British public life. His career mixed legal reform, hard-fought politics, and the larger-than-life personality that made F. E. Smith impossible to ignore.
1 Audiobook
The Story of Newfoundland
by Earl of Frederick Edwin Smith Birkenhead
About the author
Born in Birkenhead in 1872, Frederick Edwin Smith studied at Wadham College, Oxford, where he built the intellectual confidence and love of argument that shaped the rest of his life. He first made his name as a barrister in Liverpool, then entered Parliament as a Conservative and quickly became known for his dazzling speeches, quick wit, and combative style.
Smith reached high office during and after the First World War, serving as Solicitor General, Attorney General, and then Lord Chancellor. He played a part in major public issues of the era, including the negotiations that led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, and he was widely recognized as one of the most formidable legal and political figures in Britain.
Later created the 1st Earl of Birkenhead, he also wrote books and remained a vivid public personality until his death in 1930. Readers often remember him not just for his titles and offices, but for the force of his mind: a lawyer, statesman, and speaker whose presence dominated every room he entered.