William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd earl of Selborne

William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd earl of Selborne (born Oct. 17, 1859, London—died Feb. 26, 1942, London) was the first lord of the Admiralty (1900–05) in Great Britain and high commissioner for South Africa (1905–10). He helped initiate the rebuilding of the fleet into a force strong enough to oppose a greatly expanded German navy in World War I and successfully proposed the formation of the Union of South Africa. A son of the lawyer and...