Macaulay , Thomas Babington , 1800-1859 , Baron Macaulay , historian

Thomas Babington Macaulay was born at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire in 1800. He was the son of the abolitionist Zachary Macaulay and his wife Selina (née Mills). He was educated at Trinity College Cambridge and subsequently studied law at Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar in 1826. He first entered Parliament in 1830 as MP for Calne and subsequently for Leeds. He left Parliament in 1834 to serve on the Governor-General's Council in British India, returning to Britain in 1838. In 1839 he re-entered Parliament as MP for Edinburgh, keeping the seat until 1847 and spending several years as a cabinet minister. Macaulay was also known as a poet and author. Between 1839 and 1855 he wrote four volumes of a History of England, which was well-received by many critics. He was granted a peerage in 1857 and buried in Westminster Abbey after his death in 1859.