Historical Figures Codexery

William Wilberforce

British politician and abolitionist who led the campaign to end the slave trade

On 24 August 1759 in Hull, Yorkshire, Robert Wilberforce and Elizabeth Bird had an only son, William.[1]

Quick Facts

Office
Member of Parliament
Born
24 August 1759
Birthplace
Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England
Died
29 July 1833
Place of death
Belgravia, London, England
Resting place
Westminster Abbey
Education
St John's College, Cambridge
Party
Independent

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Wilberforce attended Hull Grammar School and later Pocklington School before matriculating at St John's College, Cambridge in 1776.[2][3][4] In September 1780, while still a student, he was elected MP for Kingston upon Hull, spending over £8,000 to secure the seat.[5] He sought guidance from John Newton, who counselled him to remain in politics.[6] He introduced his first abolition bill in 1791, which was defeated, and continued the campaign for years.[3]

Wilberforce married Barbara Ann Spooner in 1797 after an eight-day courtship, and they had six children.[7][8] He died on 29 July 1833, one month after hearing that the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery would pass.[9]

What the cited sources add

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, published in 2004 by Oxford University Press, records that Wilberforce's protracted parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery continued despite frustration and hostility.[10][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; ; ; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; ; Bradley, "Out of Slavery: Abolition and After", Frank Cass, 1985, p. 79–81; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stott, "Wilberforce: Family and Friends", Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 104; ; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; ; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wolffe, "Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)", 2009; ; ; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Open Library record, ISBN 9780198614111 ("Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Plus Index of Contributors (60 Volumes)"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  11. Wikipedia, "William Wilberforce" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; Wolffe, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", September 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article William Wilberforce (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Rulers & Leaders

Elsewhere in Historical Figures

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →