Historical Figure
Neville Chamberlain
1869–1940
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940
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"Peace for Our Time" — September 30, 1938
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Key Dates
Birth
1869 March 18, 1869 →Biography
Arthur Neville Chamberlain was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party from May 1937 to October 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler. Following the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, Chamberlain announced the declaration of war on Germany two days later and led the United Kingdom through the first eight months of the war until his resignation as prime minister on 10 May 1940.
Timeline
British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned in protest over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
February 20 →Events preceding World War II in Europe: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pledges British military support to the Second Polish Republic in the event of an invasion by Nazi Germany.
March 31 →The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
May 7 →World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.
May 10 →British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, after losing a confidence vote in the House of Commons, and Winston Churchill forms a new government.
May 10 →More from the Victorian Era
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