George Buckley-Mathew

Sir George Benvenuto Buckley-Mathew (4 August 1807 – 22 October 1879) was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. Life Born in 1807 as George Byam Mathew, Buckley-Mathew was the son of George Mathew (1760–1846) of the Coldstream Guards and Euphemia née Hamilton. In 1835, he substituted the middle name 'Byam' for 'Benvenuto'. Buckley-Mathew entered the army in 1825, joining the light infantry before, by 1833, becoming a captain in his father's regiment; although he retired altogether in 1841 when he was a captain in the Grenadier Guards. His first marriage enabled Buckley-Mathew to enter politics, becoming a Conservative Member of Parliament for the Irish constituency of Athlone at the 1835 general election. At the following election, he instead stood for Shaftesbury but, on the initial count, was unsuccessful, losing to the Whig John Sayer Poulter. However, upon petition, Poulter's election was declared void and Buckley-Mathew was declared elected. He held the seat until just 1841, however, when he was again defeated and retired from politics altogether.