Trace your Ancestors with 1911 Records

Case Study: Herbert Henry Asquith

Herbert Henry Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the longest-serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century until early 1988, when his record was surpassed by Margaret Thatcher.

His premiership is notable for major social changes, for example National Insurance and pensions. He was the Prime Minister during the first two years of World War I before he was replaced by David Lloyd George in 1916.

Before his term as Prime Minister he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1905 to 1908 and as Home Secretary from 1892 to 1895. During his lifetime he was known as H. H. Asquith before his accession to the peerage and as Lord Oxford afterwards.

Among his living descendants are his great-granddaughter, the actress Helena Bonham Carter; and his great-grandson, Dominic Asquith, British Ambassador to Egypt since December 2007.

A record of Henry Herbet Asquith can be found in the London 1912 Post Office Directory, available on CD from Genealogy Supplies, or to view online at The Genealogist.