Sir Robert Peel was born February 5, 1788 in England, and went to school at Harrow School and the University of Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1809, and in 1811, he became a cabinet member as undersecretary for war and the colonies. From 1812 to 1818 as chief secretary for Ireland, he ignored Irish tension to obtain increased freedom for Roman Catholics. In 1822 he reentered the cabinet as home secretary and, in 1829; he reorganized the London police force, renamed called "bobbies," or "peelers," after his name. Although he prevented a Roman Catholic emancipation bill in 1817, Peel later recognized the intensity of the situation with Ireland and as a result he supported the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, granting Roman Catholics political equality. After peel was prime minister in 1834-35 he established the modern Conservative party as a major political force. In the general elections of 1841, the Conservatives gained a majority, and Peel...