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'Luncheon Party at the House of Commons'

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'Luncheon Party at the House of Commons'

by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 17 July 1908
6 1/8 in. x 8 in. (156 mm x 202 mm) image size
Given by House of Commons Library, 1974
Photographs Collection
NPG x135013

Artistback to top

  • Sir (John) Benjamin Stone (1838-1914), Politician and photographer. Artist associated with 1436 portraits, Sitter in 28 portraits.

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Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1908back to top

Current affairs

Henry Asquith replaces Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Liberal leader and Prime Minister, with David Lloyd George taking control of the Exchequer. Asquith and Lloyd George embark on a bold programme of social reform, laying the foundations of the Welfare State, introducing government pensions this year and later a system of National Insurance.
The first aeroplane for the British army is built by the American, Samuel Cody.

Art and science

E.M. Forster's novel A Room with a View is published, following the experiences of a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, in the repressed culture of Edwardian England.
The French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first uses the term 'cubism' to refer to a landscape painting by Georges Braque.

International

King Carlos of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe, are killed by assassins from the Republican trying to provoke a revolution. Carlos I, unpopular because of his extravagant lifestyle and extramarital affairs, was succeeded by his younger son, Manuel, the last monarch of the Braganza dynasty.
Following the death of the Guangxu Emperor in China, his two year old nephew replaces him, becoming the the last Manchu emperor of China.

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