Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart
British politician
Died when: 70 years 273 days (848 months)Star Sign: Taurus
Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, KG, MVO, PC, PC (Ire) (13 May 1878 – 10 February 1949), styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peer and politician.
He is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for Air in the 1930s and for his attempts to reach an understanding with Nazi Germany.
In 1935 he was removed from the Air Ministry but retained in the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords.
His main record at the Air Ministry included: He preserved the core of the RAF at a time when even this was under threat from the Treasury.
He encouraged the planning of vital new fighter aircraft such as the Hurricane and Spitfire.It was under his tutelage that radar was developed for use by the RAF.
The Staff College at Cranwell was opened in the last months of his time as air minister....[But in underestimating the Luftwaffe he was] badly astray over the issue of German air strength in 1934–5."
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