Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey KG PC (13 March 1764 – 17 July 1845) was a British statesman, most noted for serving as Prime Minister from November 1830 through July 1834.
Lord Grey was one of the main architects of the 1832 Reform Act, despite stiff opposition from The Duke of Wellington. Prior to the passing of the law, the parliamentary map had not been changed for centuries and some districts ("rotten boroughs") elected 2 MPs to Parliament even though very few people actually lived there, while cities like Manchester and Birmingham that had grown enormously had no representation in Parliament at all. In addition to straightening out a rather corrupt and unfair system that could in part be blamed for the American Revolution, he also presided the total abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833 and gave his name to the aromatic blend of tea before retiring in 1834.
The fact that the man who very probably saved Britain from violent revolution (by putting its political system within shouting distance of modern democracy) and then basically sicced the entire might of the British Empire on the slave trade is now best remembered for the tea says a lot about Britain.
