A President at the Royal Pavilion

In 1877, Ulysses S Grant became the first former American president to visit Britain. His tour included three days in Brighton, where his speech foreshadowed the notion of the ‘special relationship’

- Clive Webb

“If I were an Englishman, I think I should select Brighton as the place where I should live, and I am very sure you could not meet a jollier and better people anywhere.” The orator paused to welcome the rapturous applause of the audience gathered in his honour at the Royal Pavilion.

His words thrilled townspeople already revelling in the reflected glory of hosting this most illustrious visitor. For Ulysses S Grant was one of the most revered men in the world. As Commander General of the Union Army, he had won victory over the southern Confederacy in the American Civil War before then serving two terms as President of the once-more United States.

Grant spent three days in Brighton during October 1877. His was the first visit by a former American president to Britain. Having recently retired from political office, Grant travelled across the Atlantic as part of a world tour that he undertook along with his wife Julia and youngest son Jesse.

The family arrived in Liverpool aboard the SS Indiana on 28 May. From there, they toured widely across Scotland and England, including a ceremony at which Grant received freedom of the City of London as well as a reception hosted by Queen Victoria at Windsor Palace. (Her Majesty was not amused by Jesse’s petulant complaint about seating arrangements for dinner.)

Grant travelled by train from Victoria Station to Brighton on the morning of Saturday 20 October. He came to the city as a personal guest of Conservative MP John Ashbury who, along with a small reception committee, welcomed him as he set foot onto the platform. A carriage immediately took the Grants on a tour of Brighton’s newest cultural attraction, the town aquarium.