Samuel, Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount, 1870–1963, British statesman. Entering Parliament as a Liberal in 1902, he was postmaster general (1910–14, 1915–16) and home secretary (1916). He lost his seat in Parliament in 1918 but served as first British high commissioner in Palestine (1920–25) and chairman of the royal commission of inquiry into the coal industry (1925–26). He played an important role in negotiating an end to the general strike of 1926. In the Commons again (1929–35), Samuel was home secretary (1931–32) and leader of the Liberal party (1931–35). He was created a peer in 1937. Samuel's writings include Practical Ethics (1935), Belief and Action: An Everyday Philosophy (1937), and In Search of Reality (1957).

Bibliography

See his memoirs (1945).

Samuel (of Mount Carmel and of Toxeth), Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount

(born Nov. 6, 1870, Liverpool, Eng.—died Feb. 5, 1963, London) British politician. A social worker in the London slums, he entered the House of Commons in 1902, where he effected legislation that established juvenile courts and the Borstal system for youthful offenders. As postmaster general (1910–14, 1915–16), he nationalized the telephone system. Appointed the first British high commissioner for Palestine (1920–25), he improved the region's economy and promoted harmony among its religious communities. He presided (1925–26) over the royal commission on the coal industry and helped to settle the general strike of May 1926. He led the Liberal Party in the House of Commons (1931–35), and after being made viscount (1937), he was leader of the party in the House of Lords (1944–55). As president of the British (later Royal) Institute of Philosophy (1931–59), he wrote popular works such as Practical Ethics (1935) and Belief and Action (1937).