The only son of a Quaker, William Edward Forster prospered as a textile mill owner
near Bradford.
1 As he created a mill school and board of health for his own workers, he interested
himself in matters such the Irish famine and the plight of Indigenous peoples, particularly
in South Africa.
2 Elected to Parliament as a Liberal MP in
1861, he became parliamentary undersecretary of state for the colonies for the government
of
Earl Russell during its final months from
November 1865 to June 1866.
3 Returning to government as vice-president of council, Forster advanced and cajoled
the Elementary Education Act through Parliament in
1870.
4 In
1880 he was appointed chief secretary for Ireland, but his conflicts with Irish nationalist
politician Charles Stewart Parnell on elements of land reform led him to resign in
1882.
5