( Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston 1784–1865)
an English prime minister (1855–58 and 1859–65). He began his career as a Tory , but in 1830 he became Foreign Secretary for the Whig (1) government. He was well known for using the armed forces to protect British interests in other countries. He was Prime Minister during the Crimean War , the Indian Mutiny and the second Opium War, and nearly involved Britain in the American Civil War .