From the Liverpool Daily Post: > THE 200th anniversary of the birth in Liverpool of political giant > William Gladstone was celebrated with the laying of a wreath in his > memory and the opening of an exhibition dedicated to his life and work. > > Four-times Prime Minister Gladstone, born in Rodney Street on December > 29, 1809, was known as the “Grand Old Man” of politics, and lived on > Merseyside for most of his early life until attending Oxford University. > > Yesterday, a crowd of close to 100 gathered in St John’s Gardens to > lay a wreath at the Gladstone memorial. > > Among those present was blind Liverpool historian Steve Binns, who > said he was embarking on the Herculean task of transcribing all of > Gladstone’s 70 years’ worth of diaries into Braille. > > Speaking at the event, Mr Binns said Gladstone had come from a > privileged upbringing as the son of a corn merchant and slave trader > to become one of the biggest champions of civil liberties and > democracy British – if not world – politics has ever known. > > But, as Mr Binns explained, Gladstone did not always hold the views > that one day led him to declare – in what is considered to be one of > the greatest political doctrines of all time – that he would always > “back the masses against the classes”. > > Mr Binns said: “In his early days, he was to the right of Genghis Khan > and was declared ‘The rising hope of those stern and unbending Tories’ > by Thomas Babington Macaulay. >