Brougham

Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, was a Scottish lawyer, politician, and reformer who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1830 to 1834. He was also a man who wanted a better carriage. In 1838, he commissioned a coachbuilder named Robinson and Cook to build a closed, four-wheeled carriage with a low floor, a single enclosed compartment for two passengers, and an elevated driver's seat outside. The design was lighter and more maneuverable than existing carriages.

The brougham was an instant success. Its low step made it easy to enter — a practical advantage for women in crinolines and hoopskirts. It was smaller and cheaper than a full coach, making it affordable for the upper middle class, not just the aristocracy. By the 1850s, 'brougham' was a standard carriage type listed in every coachbuilder's catalog. The word became generic, detached from the man.

When the automobile arrived, the word transferred. An electric brougham was an early car type in the 1900s and 1910s — a closed body with the driver's compartment separate from the passengers. Cadillac, Rauch and Lang, and other manufacturers built automobile broughams through the 1930s. The word described a body style rather than a power source: enclosed passengers, separate driver, formal proportions.

Lord Brougham lived until 1868 and was irritated that his name was mispronounced. He said it should rhyme with 'room,' not 'plough.' The public ignored him. Both pronunciations persist. The man who reformed English education, co-founded the University of London, and helped abolish slavery in the British Empire is remembered primarily as a carriage type. Words do not care about the accomplishments of the people they are named after.