Halsbury, Hardinge Stanley Giffard, 1st Earl of (1823–1921)

English lawyer and statesman. He was solicitor-general under Disraeli 1875–80, and also lord chancellor four times between 1885 and 1905.

He was born in London and educated at Oxford. In 1850 he was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple, and in 1865 became a QC. He was MP (Conservative) for Launceston 1877–85. In 1885 he was created Baron Halsbury. In 1898 he became Earl of Halsbury, and Viscount Tiverton. He was foremost among the ‘Diehards’ who opposed the passing of the 1911 Parliament Bill through the House of Lords. Among other things, this shortened the life of a parliament from seven to five years. As late as 1916, he sat as a judge in the House of Lords. Halsbury also edited the 31 volumes of The Laws of England (1907–17) in alphabetical order of subjects.