The Prime Minister who carried the Great Reform Act and abolished slavery across the British Empire.
Charles Grey was born at Fallodon in Northumberland on 13 March 1764 and entered Parliament at twenty-two. For more than forty years he was a leading voice of the reforming Whigs, an early and persistent advocate of parliamentary reform and of Catholic emancipation through long decades when both causes seemed lost.
He became Prime Minister in 1830. His government carried the Representation of the People Act of 1832, the Great Reform Act, which swept away the rotten boroughs, extended the franchise and began the orderly widening of British democracy. It was the most important constitutional reform of the nineteenth century and was achieved without revolution.
In 1833 his government passed the Slavery Abolition Act, which ended slavery across almost the whole of the British Empire and freed some eight hundred thousand people. In the same year it carried the first effective Factory Act, restricting the labour of children in the mills.
He retired from the premiership in 1834 with the central work of his life accomplished. He gave his name to the bergamot-scented blend of tea that remains one of the best-known in the world, and the family name was carried on by later bearers, among them Sir George Grey, who became Premier of New Zealand.
The Grey name, from the Old English graeg, the grey one, is recorded as a great Border surname of the English north. Earl Grey carried it to the head of government and used the office to reform Parliament and to end slavery in the Empire.
Achievements
·Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1830 to 1834
·Carried the Great Reform Act, 1832
·Carried the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833, ending slavery across the British Empire
·Carried the Factory Act, 1833, the first effective limit on child labour
·Lifelong advocate of parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation
Frequently asked
What is Earl Grey famous for?
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The Prime Minister who carried the Great Reform Act and abolished slavery across the British Empire. Charles Grey was born at Fallodon in Northumberland on 13 March 1764 and entered Parliament at twenty-two.
When was Earl Grey born?
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Earl Grey was born in 1764 in Fallodon, Northumberland. The full biographical record sits on the dedicated page on Clan Rising, set alongside the wider history of the Gray family.
When did Earl Grey die?
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Earl Grey died in 1845. That gave a lifespan of about 81 years.
How long did Earl Grey live?
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Earl Grey lived for around 81 years, from in 1764 to in 1845. The page records the substantive years in full, with the achievements and the geography that frame the life.
Where was Earl Grey born?
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Earl Grey was born in Fallodon, Northumberland, in England. The atlas links the birthplace to its tile page so the surrounding geography and other families of the area can be explored from the same record.
What is Earl Grey's connection to the Gray family?
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Earl Grey is recorded on Clan Rising as a Gray Family Champion, a figure whose life is inseparable from the surname. The Gray family page sets the wider context for the name and links through to every other notable bearer.
What did Earl Grey achieve?
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Headline achievements recorded for Earl Grey include Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1830 to 1834, Carried the Great Reform Act, 1832, Carried the Slavery Abolition Act, 1833, ending slavery across the British Empire and Carried the Factory Act, 1833, the first effective limit on child labour. The full list and the surrounding biographical record sit on the dedicated champion page.
Was Earl Grey a Gray?
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Yes. Earl Grey is filed on Clan Rising under the Gray family. The naming convention follows the surname a diaspora reader would search for today; titles, particles and pen names sort under that same canonical surname.