20th Century Portraits Catalogue

Born at Giessen, Hesse but grew up in both England and Germany; educated at both King’s College and Oxford University; undecided on a career he undertook several roles, including research assistant, writing for the Pall Mall Gazette and lecturing; he became private secretary to Viscount Goschen, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and then, on Goschen’s recommendation, under-secretary of finance in Egypt; while there he wrote England in Egypt (1892); he went on to hold important positions including Chairman of the Inland Revenue (1897-1901) and Governor of the Transvaal (1901-05); in 1902 he was made a Viscount for his services during the Boer War; he entered the new coalition government formed by David Lloyd-George in 1916 and served as Secretary of War and, later, Colonial Secretary; after preparing for the Imperial Conference of 1921, Milner retired; he was still consulted on imperial matters until his death in May 1925.