Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby

Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC (1 September 1752 O.S. – 21 October 1834), usually styled Lord Stanley from 1771 to 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He held office as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1783 in the Fox–North coalition and in 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.

Background and education Derby was the son of James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange (1716–1771), son of Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby (1689-1776). His mother was Lucy Smith, a daughter and co-heiress of Hugh Smith of Weald Hall, Essex. His father had assumed the additional surname and arms of Smith by a private act of Parliament, Stanley's Name Act 1747 (21 Geo. 2. c. 4 ). Derby entered Eton College in 1764, proceeding to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1771.

Political career Derby was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for Lancashire in 1774, a seat he held until 1776, when he succeeded his grandfather in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. He served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between April and December 1783 in the Fox-North Coalition headed by the Duke of Portland and was sworn into the Privy Council the same year.

Horse racing At a dinner party in 1778 held on his estate "The Oaks" in Carshalton, Lord Derby and his friends planned a sweepstake horse race, won the following year by Derby's own horse, Bridget. The race, The Oaks, has been named after the estate since. At a celebration after Bridget's win, a similar race for colts was proposed and Derby tossed a coin with Sir Charles Bunbury for the honour of naming the race. Derby won, and the race became known as the Derby Stakes. Bunbury won the initial race in 1780 with his horse, Diomed; Derby himself won it in 1787 with Sir Peter Teazle.

His racing colours were black with a white cap.

His influence on racing has been described as "crucial".

Cockfighting and gamefowl Lord Derby's love for racing was surpassed only by his passion for gamefowl and cockfighting. As a game fowl breeder, Derby is said to have influenced contemporaries by proving that systematic breeding could be combined with a learned familiarity of one's fowl through daily, attentive care, to increase success.

During his lifetime, Lord Derby established a family of gamefowl, which would remain popular for nearly 200 years after his death.

Lady Lucy Elizabeth Stanley (1 March 1799 – 25 April 1809), died young Hon. James Stanley (9 March 1800 – 3 April 1817), died young "after a long and painful illness" Lady Mary Margaret Stanley (23 March 1801 – December 1858); married Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton.

Lord Derby survived his second wife by five years and died on 21 October 1834, aged 82. He was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his first marriage, Edward, Lord Stanley.