Series 18.8 - Papers relating to the will of Selina Macaulay

Thomas Babington Macaulay was born on 25 October 1800 to Zachary Macaulay (1768–1838) and Selina, née Mills (1767-1831), at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, the home of Zachary Macaulay's brother-in-law Thomas Babington, after whom he was named. Raised in Clapham, he was sent in 1812 to Matthew Preston's school at Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire, and in April 1817 was admitted to Trinity College. He matriculated in 1818 and was awarded the Chancellor's English medal in 1819 and 1821; a college scholarship in 1820 and a Craven scholarship in 1821. He graduated BA in 1822 and MA in 1825, and was elected to a Trinity fellowship in 1824.

Macaulay was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in January 1822 and called to the Bar in February 1826, but never practised, instead beginning his writing career in June 1824 with articles for Knight's Quarterly Magazine. His first piece for the Edinburgh Review, on West African slavery, was published in January 1825, and his August 1826 article on Milton for the review brought him fame. Having begun an ambitious 'Universal History' at the age of seven, Macaulay's first publications on the subject were an essay entitled 'History' and a long review of Hallam's Constitutional History of England, both published in the Edinburgh Review in 1828. However, the failure of the family business forced Macaulay to look for a source of steady income, and he turned to politics.

Appointed a commissioner in bankruptcy by Lord Lyndhurst in December 1828, a position he held until July 1830, he was invited by Lord Lansdowne in February 1830 to become the MP for the pocket borough of Calne. He spoke in favour of parliamentary reform and became MP for Leeds subsequent to the 1833 enactment of the Reform Act. Macaulay was appointed to the Board of Control in June 1832 , becoming Secretary in December of that year. He resigned his seat in March 1834 after the passing of the Government of India Act 1833 to accept an appointment as first Law Member of the Governor-General's Council, and sailed for India that month. He had a great influence on education there, recommending the introduction of the English language for all secondary level teaching in a famous Minute to the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, and on law, as President of the Commission appointed to compose a criminal code from 1835-1837.

He returned to Britain in 1838 and was elected MP for Edinburgh the following year, soon being appointed Secretary at War and named to the Privy Council by Lord Melbourne. Under Lord John Russell's administration in 1846, he returned to office as Paymaster General. However, he began to dedicate more time to writing in the 1840s, publishing The Lays of Ancient Rome, which were a great popular success, in 1842, and beginning the research for his History of England. He lost his seat in 1847, and though he was re-elected in 1852, his historical work was now his main focus, due in part to increasing ill-health.