George Buckley-Mathew

Sir George Benvenuto Buckley-Mathew (born George Byam 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 of the Coldstream Guards and Euphemia née Hamilton. In 1835, he substituted the middle name 'Byam' for 'Benvenuto'. 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.

Frustrated at this political career, Buckley-Mathew was appointed Governor of the Bahamas in 1844, holding the role until 1849. His career in the Americas lasted some length; he was consul at Charleston, South Carolina, between 1850 and 1853, and then at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1853, only ending in 1856 when his exequatur was removed by then-President of the United States Franklin Pierce. He then served in the Black Sea between 1856 and 1858, and became secretary and chargé d'affaires of the legation in Mexico and then for other Central American republics, the latter where he was minister from 1861 to 1863. He was minister to Colombia from 1865 to 1866, Argentina from 1866 to 1867, and Brazil from 1867 to April 1879.

Legacy Matthew Town, the only settlement on Great Inagua Island of the Bahamas, is named after him.