Browse our titles

• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Science, Technology and Medicine
• Law
• eBookstore
• Schools and Colleges
• English Language Teaching
• Cambridge Dictionaries Online
• Book Series
• Bibles

MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague delivered a special lecture last night in Cambridge as one of the events being held to celebrate the 425th anniversary of the founding of Cambridge University Press.

William Hague spoke about the life of Britain’s youngest Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, in the appropriate setting of the Pitt Building in Trumpington Street, commissioned in 1833 in Pitt’s honour, and the University Press’s home for over a hundred years.

Hague’s biography of Pitt was published in 2005 to critical acclaim and his lecture not only helped the Press to mark its special year but also took place on the 250th anniversary of the birth of Pitt on 28 May 1759.

Pitt attended Cambridge University – a child prodigy, he was admitted to Pembroke College at the age of 14 – and went on to become Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 24. He steered the country through several crises of the age, including the effects of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

William Hague was also an early starter in politics, giving his first major political address in 1977 at age 16. The parallels between the two men do not end there: Hague became the Tory party leader at age 36, the youngest since Pitt, and he also shares with Pitt a reputation for excellent speaking and debating skills.

The Hague lecture is one of several events being held by the University Press to mark 425 years since the printing, in 1584, of the first book in Cambridge by a University Printer. 2009 also sees the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge.

Cambridge University Press Chief Executive, said: “It is a very special year in Cambridge with these twin anniversaries celebrating the books, people, ideas and achievements that have emerged from this shared history and which continue to inspire and transform the world.

“It is also the 250th anniversary of Pitt’s birth and, as our building in Trumpington Street is named for him and is a close neighbour of Pembroke College, it seemed the ideal time and place to remember his life and work. We are delighted to have had such a renowned Pitt expert as William Hague to join us in honouring William Pitt.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The William Hague lecture was held on Thursday 28 May in the Darwin Room of the Pitt Building in Trumpington Street. Photographs are available.

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions. It is the oldest publisher and printer in the world, having been operating continuously since 1584.

Throughout its history, the Press has maintained a reputation for innovation and enterprise, through publishing the latest research, and through supporting the latest methodologies for teaching and learning. Its purpose is to advance learning, knowledge and research worldwide. It publishes 240 journals and over 2,500 books annually for distribution in nearly every country in the world.

About the Pitt Building

For over a hundred years the Pitt Building was the home of the Cambridge University Press. Commissioned in honour of William Pitt the younger, the building was erected in 1833 opposite Pembroke College, which he attended.

Several inns were demolished in Silver Street to make way for the new Pitt Building, giving rise to the quip that the Press was built on "beer and bibles", Bible publishing being one of the main sources of Press income at the time.

In 2004 the building was renovated as a conference centre, and was recently accepted as a member of Conference Centres of Excellence, making it one of only 38 conference centres across the UK to be admitted.