William Wilberforce

English politician and abolitionist (1759–1833)

AI overview

William Wilberforce was an English politician and abolitionist who lived from 1759 to 1833 and played a leading role in the movement to end slavery in the British Empire. His work matters because he helped secure the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself during a crucial period when these practices were deeply embedded in British society and economics.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: August 24, 1759
Died: July 29, 1833
Works: 114

Top works

A history of the York Lunatic Asylum
Substance of speeches on the clause of the East-India bill for promoting the religious instruction and moral improvement of the natives of the British dominions in India, on the 22d of June, and the 1st and 12th of July, 1813
An enquiry into the state of the public mind amongst the lower classes, and on the means of turning it to the welfare of the state
A practical view of the prevailing religious system of professed Christians
A letter from Lord J. Russell to Mr. Wilberforce, on the proceedings against the Queen

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 5
Total plays: 8

via Last.fm · William Wilberforce

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

VMD: Visual molecular dynamics
· 1996 · cited 61,493x
Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure
· 1976 · cited 43,924x
Comparison of simple potential functions for simulating liquid water
· 1983 · cited 38,972x
QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data
· 2010 · cited 30,735x
Preparation of Graphitic Oxide
· 1958 · cited 28,531x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“Having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say you did not know.”
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners...”
“Thank God that I should have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give twenty millions sterling for the abolition of slavery.”
“All men of enlightened understandings, who acknowledge the moral government of God, must also acknowledge, that vice must offend and virtue delight him. In short they must, more or less, assent to the Scripture declaration, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.””
“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”
“God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners (morality).”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Wikidata facts

Image: William wilberforce.jpg

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: William Wilberforce
date of birth: 1759-08-24
date of death: 1833-07-29
name in native language: William Wilberforce
P12749: Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg

Sources (1)

wikidata.org

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

2 objects attributed to William Wilberforce, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

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Article

William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, and became an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Anglican, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.

In 1787, Wilberforce came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of activists against the transatlantic slave trade, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he became a leading English abolitionist. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807.