Frederick Edwin Smith Birkenhead, 1st earl of , 1872-1930, British statesman and jurist. He was called to the bar in 1899 and entered the House of Commons as a Conservative in 1906. A brilliant orator, he soon gained prominence as a Conservative spokesman, particularly in the fight against Irish Home Rule. He was solicitor general (1915), attorney general (1915-19), in which capacity he prosecuted Sir Roger Casement , and lord chancellor (1919-22). Created earl in 1922, he was (1924-28) secretary of state for India. His books include International Law (4th ed. 1911), Famous Trials of...
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