Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede

Who was Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede?

Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the third son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough. Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby, was his elder brother.

Ponsonby is often quoted as the author of the dictum "When war is declared, truth is the first casualty", published in his book Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War. However, an almost identical line had been spoken in 1917 by the United States Senator Hiram Johnson: "The first casualty when war comes is truth".