Macaulay, Thomas Babington (1800-1859), was the most widely read English historian of the 1800’s. He also achieved fame for his essays and for his poems based on legends. However, Macaulay’s writings—especially his poetry—declined in popularity during the 1900’s.
Macaulay was born in Leicestershire. His father, Zachary Macaulay, was a leading religious reformer. In 1825, Macaulay published his first article, an essay on the English poet John Milton, in the famous literary magazine The Edinburgh Review. The Review continued to publish many of Macaulay’s scholarly but popular essays on historical and literary topics.
While Macaulay was gaining a reputation as an author, he was also pursuing a political career. He was elected to Parliament in 1830 and helped lead a movement to reform the United Kingdom’s voting laws. His speeches in Parliament were so brilliant that he became a famous public figure. In 1833, the English East India Company appointed Macaulay to the Supreme Council, which governed the British colony of India. He served on the council until 1838. From 1834 until 1838, he lived in India and helped lay the foundations for English systems of criminal law and education in the colony.
After Macaulay returned to England, he began his greatest work—The History of England from the Accession of James II. Macaulay published two volumes in 1849 and two more in 1855. After his death, his sister, Lady Trevelyan, edited the final volume, which was published in 1861. The History became a best seller in England and the United States because of its vivid descriptions and powerful prose style. The work contains some factual errors, and scholars have challenged Macaulay’s slanted political views. But the History remains a highly readable introduction to a period of English history.
While working on his History, Macaulay remained a leading orator in Parliament and held several government positions. At the same time, he also wrote Lays of Ancient Rome (1842). This collection of poems about ancient Roman heroes became very popular and is still read by young people. The best-known poem in the collection is “Horatius.”
