Talk:William Ewart Gladstone

Degree
Gladstone did not get a double first. He failed to meet the residence requirement and took his degree automatically as the son of a peer. Also the discussion of the Oxford Union rather understates his relationship to it which was rather more central. Gladstone founded another debate society known as the WEG. The Union was founded five years before Gladstone matriculated but it was just one of many debate societies in the early years. Gladstone performed a sort of reverse merger, folding the WEG into the Union. He then used the Oxford Union and the Liberal Club as ongoing political vehicles throughout his career. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:4040:5C4A:FA00:FD68:FEBA:1DE8:E321 (talk) 04:20, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

Peer?
According to the article, Gladstone was 'the fourth son of the merchant Sir John Gladstones'. But later it claims he was the son of a peer. A knight is not a peer, and I can't find any evidence that John Gladstones was ever made a peer. Check a biography? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.197.230.144 (talk) 17:09, 28 June 2005 (UTC)
 * Gladstones father never was made a peer. I'll check what the situation was with his exams & amend the article later AllanHainey 30 June 2005 14:00 (UTC)
 * Gladstone did sit examinations for mathematics & classics, passed both. I can find no reference to him also sitting a seperate history degree or being disqualified from exams due to residency requirements so have removed that part. His father wasn't a Peer in 1831 although did become a Baronet in 1846, don't think thats a peer but it is irrelevant for the purposes of the article. AllanHainey 1 July 2005 07:43 (UTC)
 * The Jenkins biography certainly fits with this. He makes it clear that Gladstone "did not pay the extra fees to be treated as a gentleman-commoner (sometimes called nobleman-commoner". Also "He did not work excessively hard at Oxford, except perhaps in the late summer and autumn of 1831, which culminated in his taking two 'Schools' Literae Humaniores and Mathematics, between 7 November and 14 December, and getting secure firsts in both. The feat was the greater because he was not really interested in mathematics. He merely absorbed the subject in order to get the coveted scalp of a double first." So based on Jenkins at least, he didn't qualify without examination, he didn't matriculate as a nobleman-commoner, and didn't study history. I suspect Jenkins would also have noted if Gladstone had been the first person to achieve a double-first. Mpntod July 1, 2005 10:31 (UTC)
 * The piece about Gladstone getting he degree without examination was in the 8 volume life of Gladstone in the Oxford Union Library when I read it 20 years ago. The reference to history can be found on the St Deniols Library Web site, they would be likely to get details of that type right about their patron. Of course it is possible that they are simply listing an honorary degree granted long after he went down.
 * Gladstone was not the first person to obtain a double first, but he graduated in the first year after Oxford had reformed the examination system. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gorgonzilla (talk • contribs) 12:12, 7 August 2005 (UTC)

State funeral
He had a state funeral - should it be mentioned? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.156.240.17 (talk) 17:25, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Modifications to Discussion of 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War
I am a student at Colgate University, and I am working on an assignment for my Egyptian history class to update information regarding the 1882 British invasion and occupation of Egypt. As such, I updated the section describing Gladstone's role in the invasion of Egypt according to information from well-credited historical essays on the subject. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrobson1987 (talk • contribs) 16:08, 28 April 2010 (UTC)