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- William Wilberforce, of Kingston-upon-Hull,the great philanthropist;M.P.for Hull 1780,for Yorkshire 1784, 1790, 1793, 1802, 1806 and 1807-12, and for Bramber, 1812-25.He became the parliamentary leader of the cause of abolition of slavery 1787. He introduced a resolution
condemning slave-trade 1789, and had a motion for its gradual abolition carried by the House of Commons 1791. The bill for total abolition of the slave trade defeated several times but passed by the Commons 1804, then twice rejected by House of Lords It finally became law on 25 March1807.
He was a prominent member of the Clapham 'saints', centred around the evangelical church of the Holy Trinity, and set himself the aim for the 'Reform of Manners' - the development of a more moral society.
He took part in founding Church Missionary Society, 1798, and Bible Society, 1803,the RSPCA and many other causes, to which he gave most of his fortune. He was the friend of Pitt, Raffles, Fox, Sheridan, and many more of the eminent men of his time, and author of many religious and philanthropic works including "Christianity, a Practical View"
Born 24th August, 1759, educated Pocklington, & St. John's College, Cambridge.(buried in Westminster Abbey)
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