Neville Chamberlain March 1869 in a house called Southbourne in the Edgbaston district of 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, cousin to William Kenrick MP; she died when he was a small boy. Joseph Chamberlain had had another son, Austen Chamberlain, by his first marriage. Neville Chamberlain was educated at Rugby School. Joseph Chamberlain then sent Neville to Mason College (taking external exams of University of London). Neville Chamberlain had little interest in his studies there, and in 1889 his
Rise of Neville Chamberlain at St Ermin’s Hotel where the Ministry was housed. Lloyd George wrote to his family (in Welsh) that "Neville Chamberlain has resigned and thank God for that." He met with considerable sympathy from members of parliament after his resignation. John Dillon, an Irish Nationalist MP, stated that "if Mr. Chamberlain were an archangel, or if he were Hindenburg and Bismarck and all the great men of the world rolled into one, his task would be wholly beyond his powers". Unionist Party leader Bonar Law spoke of the "absolutely impossible task" Chamberlain had faced. Auckland Geddes, Chamberlain's successor, was made a