Carson, Lord (1854-1935), Edward Henry Carson, an Irish lawyer and politician, was the leader of the Ulster Unionists. The Unionists were violently opposed to any form of Home Rule (greater self-government) for Ireland. In 1912, the Unionists pledged themselves to oppose the Home Rule Bill proposed by the Conservative politician Andrew Bonar Law. Carson formed the Ulster Volunteers to take up arms against Irish Home Rule. By 1914, the Ulster Volunteers numbered more than 80,000. Civil war nearly erupted in Ireland, but the outbreak of World War I in 1914 kept the Home Rule Bill from taking effect.
Carson became attorney general in the British government in 1915 but soon resigned. He joined Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s government in 1916 but resigned two years later over its Home Rule policy.
Carson was born in Dublin on Feb. 9, 1854, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He entered the British Parliament in 1892. In 1921, he resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionists. He was made a baron the same year. He died on Oct. 22, 1935.
