Split in the Liberal Party in 1886

The Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain MP
Joseph Chamberlain in 1909.
Leader of the Opposition in the Commons
In office 8 February 1906 – 27 February 1906
Monarch	Edward VII
Prime Minister	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Preceded by	Arthur Balfour
Succeeded by	Arthur Balfour
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office 29 June 1895 – 16 September 1903
Prime Minister	The Marquess of Salisbury Arthur Balfour
Preceded by	The Marquess of Ripon
Succeeded by	Alfred Lyttelton
President of the Local Government Board
In office 1 February 1886 – 3 April 1886
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Arthur Balfour
Succeeded by	James Stansfeld
President of the Board of Trade
In office 3 May 1880 – 9 June 1885
Prime Minister	William Ewart Gladstone
Preceded by	Viscount Sandon
Succeeded by	The Duke of Richmond
Personal details
Born	(1836-07-08)8 July 1836 Camberwell, Surrey, England
Died	2 July 1914(1914-07-02) (aged 77) Birmingham, England
Resting place	Key Hill Cemetery, Birmingham
Political party	Liberal (1866–1886) Liberal Unionist (1886–1906)
Spouse(s)	Harriet Kenrick (m. 1861–63) Florence Kenrick (m. 1868–75) Mary Endicott (m. 1888–1914)
Children	Beatrice Joseph Austen Arthur Neville Ida Hilda Ethel
Education	University College School
Profession	Businessman
Signature
Nickname(s)	"Our Joe", "Joseph Africanus"

Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then, after opposing home rule for Ireland, a Liberal Unionist, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Conservatives. He split both major British parties in the course of his career.

Chamberlain made his career in Birmingham, first as a manufacturer of screws and then as a notable mayor of the city. He was a radical Liberal Party member and an opponent of the Elementary Education Act 1870. As a self-made businessman, he had never attended university and had contempt for the aristocracy. He entered the House of Commons at 39 years of age, relatively late in life compared to politicians from more privileged backgrounds. Rising to power through his influence with the Liberal grassroots organisation, he served as President of the Board of Trade in Gladstone's Second Government (1880–85). At the time, Chamberlain was notable for his attacks on the Conservative leader Lord Salisbury, and in the 1885 general election he proposed the "Unauthorised Programme", which was not enacted, of benefits for newly enfranchised agricultural labourers, including the slogan promising "three acres and a cow". Chamberlain resigned from Gladstone's Third Government in 1886 in opposition to Irish Home Rule. He helped to engineer a Liberal Party split and became a Liberal Unionist, a party which included a bloc of MPs based in and around Birmingham.