1-345-856 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Mr Gladstone at Leeds', late 19th century. Gladstone and his wife, travelling in a torchlight procession, are cheered on by a crowd which braves the rain. William Ewart Gladstone MP (1809-1898), British Liberal Prime Minister, was born in Liverpool and educated at Oxford from where in 1832 he embarked on his political career. He became Prime Minister in 1868, and then a further two times in 1880 and 1886. Whilst in power Gladstone brought in major reforms to Ireland and established a system of national education in England.