David Lloyd George was born near Manchester on January 17, 1863, an irony, to be sure, for the most famous Welshman in recent memory. His father William George, originally from Pembrokeshire in Wales, had become headmaster of an elementary school in Manchester. Failing health forced William George to abandon teaching and to return to Pembrokeshire where he died of pneumonia in June 1864, leaving behind two small children and a wife (Elizabeth) who was expecting a third. Left practically penniless, Elizabeth was forced to move in with her brother Richard and her mother in Llanystumdwy, not far from Criccieth. Richard Lloyd was a lifelong bachelor and, to his credit, looked after his sister's family as if it were his own. He was an unpaid Baptist preacher, self-educated, highly intelligent, passionate about Welsh culture and history, and a die-hard Liberal. He made a comfortable living carrying on a shoemaking business, so that young David and his siblings grew up without enduring privation in a stable and loving environment. At school it was clear that David was bright, with a phenomenal memory and he excelled in mathematics, history and geography. His formal education came to an end in 1878 when, thanks to uncle Lloyd's connections, a post was found for him in a leading law firm in nearby Portmadoc and the following year he was articled to the junior partner for a period of five years.