born Sept. 4, 1843, London, Eng.
died Jan. 26, 1911, London
British politician.
He was elected to Parliament in 1868, first as an extremist then as a moderate. In 1882 he became a member of William E. Gladstone 's cabinet and was seen as a future prime minister. He was ruined at the height of his career when he was cited as a corespondent in a sensational divorce suit in 1886. Dilke denied the woman's story, and the accumulated evidence showed that much of it was a fabrication. He returned to the House of Commons (1892–1911), where he promoted progressive labor legislation and gained a reputation as a military expert.