Buxton, Sydney Charles (1853-1934) Also known as: Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton

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James Bryce to Jane Addams, August 27, 1910

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Birth Date

1853-10-25

Death Date

1934-10-15

Birthplace

London, England

Biographical Text

Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton, attended Clifton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and from 1876 to 1882 he was a member of the London School Board. His career in politics began in 1880 when he published the Handbook to the Political Questions of the Day and ran for Parliament for Boston, though he lost. In 1883 he became an MP in Peterborough, and in 1886 he became an MP for Poplar, serving in this position until 1914. From 1892 to 1895, Buxton served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in 1905 he joined the Cabinet as Postmaster-General, introducing penny postage to the United States, the Canadian magazine post, and cheap postage for the blind. In 1910 he became the President of the Board of Trade, and in 1912 he appointed a commission to investigate the sinking of the Titanic. Buxton was appointed Governor-General of South Africa in 1914. Also in 1914, he became a viscount, and in 1920 he became an Earl.

Buxton married Constance Mary Lubbock in 1882. They had two sons and one daughter together. Both sons died before Buxton, and Constance died in 1892. Buxton then remarried to Mildred Anne Smith in 1896. They had one son and two daughters together, though the son and older daughter also died before Buxton. Buxton died in 1934.