Lansbury, George (sh) and Leo XIII (sh)

Lansbury, George (sh)

born Feb. 21, 1859, near Halesworth, Suffolk, Eng.
died May 7, 1940, London

British politician.

As a member of the House of Commons (1910-12, 1922-40), he became known as a socialist and poor-law reformer, and he led the British Labour Party from 1931 to 1935. Pacifist in his leanings, he was unwilling to call for economic sanctions against Italy for its aggression in Ethiopia (1935), fearing it might lead to war, and lost his party Leadership post. In 1937 he visited Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in the vain hope that his personal influence could stop the movement toward war.

Leo XIII (sh)

orig. Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci

born March 2, 1810, Carpineto Romano, Papal States
died July 20, 1903, Rome

Pope (1878-1903).

Born into the Italian nobility, he was ordained a priest in 1837 and entered the diplomatic service of the Papal States. He was appointed bishop of Perugia in 1846 and was named a cardinal in 1853. He was elected pope in 1878, and, despite his advanced age and frail Health, he directed the church for a quarter of a century. Like his predecessor, Pius IX, he opposed Freemasonry and secular liberalism, but he brought a new spirit to the papacy by adopting a conciliatory attitude toward civil governments and taking a more positive view of scientific progress.

Leo XIII, 1878

The Bettmann Archive

Sites

4 u search,search for you