Home > Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
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 elected to parliament at the age of 22 in 1786Events May 21 Trial of the Necklace affair ends in Paris August 8 Mont Blanc was climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat. September 2 Hurricane in England Choctaw Treaty Chickasaw Treaty Robert Burns publishes Poems, C. He became a part of the Whig circle of Charles James FoxThe Right Honourable Charles James Fox ( January 24, 1749 September 13, 1806) was an English politician. He was the third son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, one of the older generation self-aggrandizing Whigs. His mother was Lady Caroline Lennox, daught, Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Sheridan ( October 30, 1751 July 7, 1816) was an Irish playwright and politician. Sheridan was baptized in Dublin on November 4, 1751, his father Thomas being an actor-manager who managed the Theatre Royal, Dublin for a time, and his moth, and the Prince of WalesGeorge IV (George Augustus Frederick) ( 12 August 1762 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. He had earlier served as Prince Regent; his father, George III, suffered from porphyria, and had lapsed into insanity., 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 DevonshireGeorgiana, Duchess of Devonshire ( June 7, 1757 March 30, 1806), born Lady Georgiana Spencer was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and mother of William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, John, 1st Earl, 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 of 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.
