Charles Shaw-Lefevre

Charles Shaw-Lefevre (22 February 1794 - 28 December 1888), Speaker of the British House of Commons 1839-57, was educated at Winchester and Trinity College Cambridge. He was the son-in-law of the sister of Earl Grey, the Whig Prime Minister, which advanced his career greatly. A Whig, he was MP for Downton 1830-31, for Hampshire 1831-32, and for North Hampshire 1832-57, when he was created Viscount Eversley. He acquired, says the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "a high reputation in the House of Commons for his judicial fairness, combined with singular tact and courtesy." By 1857 he was second-longest-serving Speaker ever, after Arthur Onslow, who held the post for more than 33 years. He was the elder brother of Sir John Shaw-Lefevre, a senior civil servant and one of the founders of the University of London.