born Oct. 25, 1800, Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, Eng.
died Dec. 28, 1859, Campden Hill, London
English politician, historian, and poet.
While a fellow at Cambridge University, Macaulay published the first of his essays, on Lays of Ancient Rome (1842) and Critical and Historical Essays (1843) before retiring to private life and beginning his brilliant History of England , 5 vol. (1849–61); covering the period 1688–1702, it established a {{link=Whig">Whig interpretation of English history that influenced generations.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, detail of an oil painting by J. Partridge, 1840; in the National ...
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London