Neville Chamberlain
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Early life and family - Chamberlain was born in Birmingham.
He was the only son of the second marriage of Joseph Chamberlain, who later became Mayor of Birmingham and a Cabinet minister.
His mother was Florence Kenrick, who died when he was a small boy.
Joseph Chamberlain had had another son, Austen Chamberlain, by his first marriage.

Education - Chamberlain was educated at home by his elder sister Beatrice Chamberlain and later at Rugby School.
His father then sent Neville to Mason College, now University of Birmingham.

Accounting - Neville Chamberlain had little interest in his studies there, and in 1889 his father apprenticed him to a firm of accountants.
Within six months he became a salaried employee.

Business - His father sent Chamberlain to establish a sisal plantation on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
Neville Chamberlain spent six years there but the plantation was a failure, and Joseph Chamberlain lost £50,000.
On his return to England, Chamberlain purchased (with assistance from his family) Hoskins & Company, a manufacturer of metal ship berths.
He served as managing director of Hoskins for 17 years during which time the company prospered.

Activism - Chamberlain also involved himself in civic activities in Birmingham.
In 1906, as Governor of Birmingham's General Hospital, and along with other dignitaries, Chamberlain became a founding member of the national United Hospitals Committee of the British Medical Association.

Personal life - At forty, Chamberlain was expecting to remain a bachelor, but in 1910 he fell in love with Anne Cole, and married her the following year.
She encouraged and supported his entry into local politics and was to be his constant companion, helper, and trusted colleague, fully sharing his interests.
The couple had a son and a daughter.

Trivia - His brother started the urban myth that the Chinese have a saying: "May you live in interesting times".

Political career - After working in business and local government, and after a short spell as Director of National Service in 1916 and 1917, Chamberlain followed his father, Joseph Chamberlain, and older half-brother, Austen Chamberlain, in becoming a Member of Parliament in the 1918 general election for the new Birmingham Ladywood division at the age of 49.
He declined a junior ministerial position, remaining a backbencher until 1922.
Chamberlain was rapidly promoted in 1923 to Minister of Health and then Chancellor of the Exchequer.
After a short-lived Labour-led government, he returned as Minister of Health, introducing a range of reform measures from 1924 to 1929.
He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in the National Government in 1931.

Premiership - Chamberlain succeeded Stanley Baldwin as prime minister on 28 May 1937.
He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940.
Chamberlain is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938, conceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
His premiership was dominated by the question of policy towards an increasingly aggressive Germany, and his actions at Munich were widely popular among the British at the time. In response to Hitler's continued aggression, Chamberlain pledged Great Britain to defend Poland's independence if the latter were attacked.
Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, Chamberlain announced the declaration of war on Germany two days later and led Great Britain through the first eight months of the war until his resignation as prime minister on 10 May 1940.

Resignation - The failure of Allied forces to prevent the German invasion of Norway caused the House of Commons to hold the historic Norway Debate in May 1940.
Chamberlain's conduct of the war was heavily criticised by members of all parties and, in a vote of confidence, his government's majority was greatly reduced.
Accepting that a national government supported by all the main parties was essential, Chamberlain resigned the premiership because the Labour and Liberal parties would not serve under his leadership.
Although he still led the Conservative Party, he was succeeded as prime minister by his colleague Winston Churchill.
Until ill health forced him to resign on 22 September 1940, Chamberlain was an important member of the war cabinet as Lord President of the Council, heading the government in Churchill's absence.

Death - Chamberlain died aged 71 on 9 November 1940 of cancer, six months after leaving the premiership.

Legacy - Chamberlain's reputation remains controversial among historians, the initial high regard for him being entirely eroded by books such as Guilty Men, published in July 1940, which blamed Chamberlain and his associates for the Munich accord and for allegedly failing to prepare the country for war. Most historians in the generation following Chamberlain's death held similar views, led by Churchill in The Gathering Storm.
Contrary to popular belief, his approval rating actually increased to 68 percent after he made the deal with Hitler.
Some later historians have taken a more favourable perspective of Chamberlain and his policies, citing government papers released under the Thirty Year Rule and arguing that going to war with Germany in 1938 would have been disastrous as the UK was unprepared.
He passed the Factories act which improved the horrific conditions of factories and decreased child labor.
Nonetheless, Chamberlain is still unfavourably ranked amongst British prime ministers.