Salisbury, Third Marquess of

Salisbury, Third Marquess of 

(Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne Cecil). Born Feb. 3, 1830, at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire; died there Aug. 22,1903. British statesman.

Salisbury served as secretary of state for India in 1866 and 1867 and from 1874 to 1878 and as foreign secretary from 1878 to 1880. He was a leading figure in the Congress of Berlin of 1878. After Disraeli’s death in 1881, Salisbury became leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords and later led the Conservative Party. He served three terms as prime minister (1885–86, 1886–92, 1895–1902), simultaneously holding the post of foreign secretary until 1900.

Salisbury was an adherent of the policy of “splendid isolation,” and a vigorous supporter of British colonial expansion in Asia and Africa. His colonial policy led to strains in Anglo-French relations (the Fashoda Question, 1898) and was a contributing factor to the outbreak of the Boer War (1899–1902). In 1902, Salisbury’s government concluded an alliance with Japan, mainly against Russia. Salisbury opposed home rule for Ireland.