Grote, George 1794-1871
English historian and politician

He was born in Clay Hill, Beckenham, Kent, and educated at Charterhouse. In 1810 he became a clerk in the bank (which was founded in 1766 by his grandfather) in Threadneedle Street, of which he became governor (1830-43). From 1832 to 1841 he was MP for the City of London. During his first session he brought forward a motion for the adoption of the ballot; it was lost, but Grote continued to advocate the measure until he retired from parliamentary life and banking to devote himself to literature, mainly his History of Greece (1846-1856). In 1865 he finished Plato and the other Companions of Socrates, but his Aristotle was unfinished. He also wrote Fragments on Ethical Subjects (1876). He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.