Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, (March 13, 1764 - July 17, 1845). British statesman and Prime Minister. Known as Charles Grey until 1806, and then as Viscount Howick from 1806 to 1807.
From an aristocratic background, Grey was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was elected to parliament at the age of 22 in 1786. He became a part of the Whig circle of Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and the Prince of Wales, and soon became one of the major leaders of the Whig party. Grey was noted for advocating parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation. His affair with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, herself an active political campaigner, did him little harm although it nearly caused her to be divorced by her husband.
In 1806 Grey, now Lord Howick due to his father's elevation to the peerage as Earl Grey, became a part of the Ministry of All the Talents (a coalition of Foxite Whigs, Grenvillites, and Addingtonites) as First Lord of the Admiralty. Following Fox's death later that year, Howick took over both as Foreign Secretary and as leader of the Whigs.
The government fell from power the next year, and Howick went to the Lords the same year, succeeding his father as Earl Grey. He continued in opposition for the next 23 years.
In 1830, the Whigs finally returned to power, with Grey as Prime Minister. His ministry was a notable one, seeing passage of the Reform Act 1832, which finally saw the reform of the House of Commons, and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833. As the years had passed, however, Grey had become more conservative, and he was cautious about initiating more far-reaching reforms. In 1834 Grey retired from public life, leaving Lord Melbourne as his successor.
Earl Grey tea is named after Grey. He is commemorated by a monument, known as Grey's Monument in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Also called simply "Monument", it consists of a statue of Lord Grey sitting atop a 41 m high column. The monument lends its name to a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro located directly underneath. He also gives his name to Grey College, Durham.
Lord Grey's Ministry, November 1830 - July 1834
Changes
- 1831 - Lord John Russell, the Paymaster of the Forces, and Edward Smith-Stanley, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, join the Cabinet.
- April, 1833 - Lord Goderich, now the Earl of Ripon, succeeds Lord Durham as Lord Privy Seal. Edward Smith-Stanley succeeds Ripon as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. His successor as Chief Secretary for Ireland is not in the Cabinet. Edward Ellice, the Secretary at War, joins the Cabinet.
- June, 1834 - Thomas Spring Rice succeeds Stanley as Colonial Secretary. Lord Carlisle succeeds Ripon as Lord Privy Seal. Lord Auckland succeeds Graham as First Lord of the Admiralty. The Duke of Richmond leaves the Cabinet. His successor as Postmaster-General is not in the Cabinet. Charles Poulett Thomson, the President of the Board of Trade, and James Abercromby, the Master of the Mint, join the Cabinet.
Last updated: 07-30-2005 17:30:43
