John Morley

On Compromise (Dodo Press) John Morley

John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, OM, PC (1838-1923) was a British Liberal statesman, writer and newspaper editor. He was educated at Cheltenham College, University College School and Lincoln College, Oxford. He quarrelled with his father over religion, and had to leave Oxford early without an honours degree. His father had wanted him to become a clergyman. He wrote, in obvious allusion to this rift in On Compromise (1874). He was called to the bar before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. He was the editor of the Fortnightly Review from 1867 to 1882 and of the Pall Mall Gazette from 1880-83 before going into politics. In 1885 he was made Chief Secretary for Ireland. Morley's great speech at Manchester, in 1899 raises him to a special level amongst masters of English rhetoric. His other works include: Studies in Literature (1891), Indian Speeches (1907-1909) (1909), Politics and History (1914) and Recollections (1917).