Lord Randolph Churchill

**Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill** (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was Winston Churchill's father. He was a son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough.

He was a leading British Tory politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term _One-nation conservatism_.

He inspired a generation of party managers and created the National Union of the Conservative Party. He broke new ground in modern budgetary presentations. He got admiration and criticism from across the political spectrum. His disloyalty to Lord Salisbury was the beginning of the end of what might have been a glittering career.  His elder son, Winston, wrote a biography of him in 1906.

## Medical condition and early death

Churchill died early, suffering from a disease. That disease was either syphilis or a brain tumour or even multiple sclerosis.

It is definitely the case that he was treated for syphilis, and it has been suggested that he was suffering from symptoms of the mercury-based medication. The Churchills' family doctor in the 1880s had written about syphilis. He referred Randolph to the specialist Thomas Buzzard, and continued to prescribe potassium iodide and mercury.

## Sources

- Churchill, Winston C. 1906. _Lord Randolph Churchill_. 2 vols, Macmillan, London.
- Rosebery, Lord 1906. _Lord Randolph Churchill_.
- Cornwallis-West, Mrs 1908. _The reminiscences of Lady Randolph Churchill_.
- Jennings, Louis J. 1889. _Speeches of Lord Randolph Churchill 1880–88_. 2 vols.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **name**: Lord Randolph Churchill
- **image**: Lord Randolph Churchill.jpg
- **order**: Chancellor of the Exchequer
- **term start**: 3 August 1886
- **term end**: 22 December 1886
- **primeminister**: Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, The Marquess of Salisbury
- **predecessor**: William Vernon Harcourt (politician), William Vernon Harcourt
- **successor**: George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen, George Goschen
- **order2**: Leader of the House of Commons
- **term start2**: 3 August 1886
- **term end2**: 14 January 1887
- **primeminister2**: Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, The Marquess of Salisbury
- **predecessor2**: William Ewart Gladstone
- **successor2**: William Henry Smith (1825–1891), William Henry Smith
- **office3**: Secretary of State for India
- **term start3**: 24 June 1885
- **term end3**: 28 January 1886
- **primeminister3**: Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, The Marquess of Salisbury
- **preceded3**: John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, The Earl of Kimberley
- **succeeded3**: John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, The Earl of Kimberley
- **birth name**: Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill
- **birth date**: 13 February 1849
- **birth place**: Belgravia, London, England
- **death place**: Westminster, London, England
- **party**: Conservative Party (UK), Conservative
- **children**: Winston Churchill, Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill
John Strange Spencer-Churchill, John Spencer-Churchill
- **parents**: John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Lady Frances Anne Vane
- **profession**: Politician
- **education**: Cheam School
Eton College
- **alma mater**: Merton College, Oxford