10 Facts About Randal Cremer

Sir William Randal Cremer usually known by his middle name "Randal", was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, a pacifist, and a leading advocate for international arbitration.

Randal Cremer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1903 for his work with the international arbitration movement.

Randal Cremer's father was a coachman, who abandoned the family soon after Randal Cremer was born.

Randal Cremer's mother raised him along with his two sisters, ensuring he received an education at a local Methodist school.

Randal Cremer augmented his knowledge by attending free lectures, was apprenticed as a builder and became a skilled carpenter.

Randal Cremer was elected as the Secretary of the International Workingmen's Association in 1865 but resigned two years later in 1867, when the organization decided to make women eligible for membership.

From as early as his first unsuccessful run for Parliament in 1868, Randal Cremer had advocated the expansion of international arbitration as peaceful alternative to war for the resolution of disputes.

Randal Cremer was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament for Haggerston in the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch from 1885 to 1895, and then from 1900 until his death from pneumonia in 1908.

In recognition of his work in the arbitration movement, Randal Cremer won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first to do so solo, in 1903.

Randal Cremer was named a Chevalier of the French Legion d'honneur, won the Norwegian Knighthood of Saint Olaf and was knighted in 1907.