Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne (1812-1895), Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, was called to the bar in 1837 and entered parliament as a Conservative in 1847. Palmer soon became a Liberal, however, and served Palmerston and Russell as Solicitor General (1861-1863) and Attorney General (1863-1866).
Under Gladstone, he became Lord Chancellor in 1872 and was created Baron Selborne. His first tenure in the office saw the passage of the Judicature Act of 1873, which completely reorganized the judiciary. He served in the same office in Gladstone's Second Cabinet (1880-1885), and was created Earl of Selborne and Viscount Wolmer in 1882. He broke with Gladstone, however, over Irish Home Rule, in 1885, and joined the Liberal Unionists.
His son, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, later became a prominent Unionist politician.
| Preceded by: The Lord Hatherley | Lord Chancellor 1872-1874 | Followed by: The Lord Cairns |
| Preceded by: The Earl Cairns | Lord Chancellor 1880-1885 | Followed by: The Lord Halsbury |
| Preceded by: New Creation | Earl of Selborne | Followed by: William Palmer |