Thomas Babington Macaulay
Macaulay, Lord Thomas Babington (1800-59). British historian, poet, and statesman. A Whig and an opponent of slavery from his youth, he served as an MP from 1830 to 1853 and held important government and colonial offices. His publications include essays and speeches, The Lays of Ancient Rome (1842), and a five-volume History of England (1849-61). This is probably the most popular historical work ever written. Today it is regarded as a brilliant but somewhat biased work, strongly reflecting Macaulay’s Whig views. Palmerston raised him to the peerage in 1857, with the title Baron Macaulay of Rothley.
