Anthony Eden (1897

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Biography

Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, was a British politician and military officer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.

Timeline

The story of Anthony Eden, told in moments.

1938 Event

Resigned as Foreign Secretary at 40 in protest of Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Mussolini. It was a political risk. Churchill later praised it as the act that preserved Eden's reputation.

Was resigning over appeasement at forty the bravest or most reckless thing you did? Did Churchill's praise matter in the moment?

1955 Event

Succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister after waiting in his shadow for nearly 15 years. Won a general election with a comfortable majority within weeks.

Was fifteen years waiting in Churchill's shadow worth the premiership? Did the election majority feel like vindication?

1956 Event

Ordered the invasion of Egypt during the Suez Crisis after Nasser nationalized the canal. American pressure forced a humiliating withdrawal. Eden's health collapsed.

Was Suez a miscalculation or a conviction? Did American pressure feel like betrayal? Is your health collapsing under the weight of Suez metaphor or medical reality?

1977 Death

Died at 79 in Wiltshire. His premiership lasted less than two years. Suez had destroyed it.

Does a premiership of less than two years define a life? Was Suez the mistake or the aftermath?

Artifacts (15)

Anthony van Dyck - Portrait of a A Man in Armor - Google Art Project

Anthony van Dyck

1616/1627

commons View

Group Portrait, Eden Bar

Max Beckmann

1923 · Woodcut on green laid paper

aic View

Mrs Anthony Eden as the Muse of History

Madame Yevonde

1935

vam View

Mrs Anthony Eden as the Muse of History

Madame Yevonde

1935

vam View

Expulsion from Eden

Abel Pann

n.d. · Pastel on tan wood-pulp laminate board

aic View

Anthony van Dyck - Portrait of a Member of the Balbi Family - WGA07377

Anthony van Dyck

circa 1625

commons View

Rt Hon Anthony Eden MP

William Little

between 1939 and 1946

commons View

INF3-65 Anthony Eden artist Richard Ziegler

Richard Ziegler

between 1939 and 1946

commons View

INF3-74 Anthony Eden

Unknown authorUnknown author

between 1939 and 1946

commons View

The Reckoning: The Memoirs of Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon

"Deals with the period between Anthony Eden's resignation from the office of Foreign Secretary in Februrary 1938 to the end of the Second World War." -- Dust jacket.

1965

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Towards Peace in Indo-China

SCOTT (copy 1) From the John Holmes Library collection.

1966

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Another World, 1897-1917

"Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897? 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957. He was also Foreign Secretary for...

1977

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The Eden-Eisenhower Correspondence, 1955-1957

"Many of the letters have only recently been declassified, making it possible for the first time to publish this unique historic collection in its entirety."--BOOK JACKET.

2005

Letters Read Talk

For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Du...

mbers, enemies and friends from his time there. Ulysses is set in the city's streets and alleyways. Joyce said: "For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I...

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England

1938

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