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| June 9th | Charles Buller |
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On this day in 1826, Charles Buller (1806 – 1848) became Member of Parliament for the ‘rotten borough’ of West Looe. Born in Kolkata (Calcutta), the son of Charles Buller the Elder (1774 – 1848) and Barbara Isabella Kirkpatrick, the daughter of the East India Company soldier, Major-General William Kirkpatrick, Buller was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and followed his father into politics, his father having represented West Looe between 1812 and 1816. A barrister and Parliamentary reformer who was known for his wit and supposed practical jokes, he was also a journalist and diplomat. He undertook a diplomatic mission to Canada with his brother, Sir Arthur William Buller (September 5th) and he also drafted the constitution of New South Wales. Mount Buller in the state was named in his memory. The West Looe constituency was abolished as a consequence of the 1832 Reform Act, for which he voted, and Buller represented the new constituency of Liskeard until his death from typhus. A life size marble bust in Westminster Abbey commemorates his life and achievements; a remarkable achievement for one who died so young
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