The English statesman Henry John Temple, 3d Viscount Palmerston (1784-1865), was the chief architect of British foreign policy in the mid-19th century. His aggressive diplomatic methods symbolized Britain at the zenith of its power.

In the framework of Victorian politics, Lord Palmerston was a liberal because he worked for the independence of constitutional states on the Continent, but he was restrained in the support of liberal programs in England and opposed reform in Ireland.

Henry John Temple was born on Oct. 20, 1784, at Broadlands, Hampshire. His father was Henry Temple, 2d Viscount Palmerston, and his mother was Mary Dee. When he was 8, he went to the Continent with his parents for an extended stay; in the next 2 years he acquired a knowledge of French and Italian. His formal education was at Harrow, the University of Edinburgh, and St. John's College, Cambridge. He succeeded to an Irish viscountcy in...