MALMESBURY

malmesbury, james howard harris, 3rd earl of (1807-1889), english statesman, son of the 2nd earl, was born on the 25th of march 1807, and educated at eton and oriel college, oxford. he led a life of travel for several years, making acquaintance with famous people; and in 1841 he had only just been elected to the house of commons as a conservative, when his father died and he succeeded to the peerage. his political career, though not one which made any permanent impression on history, attracted a good deal of contemporary attention, partly from his being foreign secretary in 1852 and again in 1858-1859 (he was also lord privy seal in 1866-1868 and in 1874-1876), and partly from his influential position as an active tory of the old school in the house of lords at a time when lord derby and mr disraeli were, in their different ways, moulding the conservatism of the period. moreover his long life--he survived till the 17th of may 1889--and the publication of his _memoirs of an ex-minister_ in 1884, contributed to the reputation he enjoyed. these _memoirs_, charmingly written, full of anecdote, and containing much interesting material for the history of the time, remain his chief title to remembrance. lord malmesbury also edited his grandfather's _diaries and correspondence_ (1844), and in 1870 published _the first lord malmesbury and his friends: letters from 1745 to 1820_. he was succeeded as 4th earl by his nephew, edward james (1842-1899), whose son, james edward (b. 1872) became the 5th earl in 1899.