Charles Abbot

Charles Abbot (1757-1829) was a British statesman. Born in Abingdon in 1757 he went on to be educated at Oxford University and was called to the bar in 1784. In 1795 he was elected to parliment where he supported William Pitt.

He was primarily responsible for the bill which authorized the first census of the population of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1801 he became chief secretary for Ireland. In February 1802 he became Speaker of the House of Commons and he retained this post until May 1817 when he resigned on health reasons.

For his services he was awarded a peerage and became Baron Colchester.

He died in 1829 leaving two sons.