![]() ![]() A statue of William Wilberforce outside Wilberforce House, his birthplace in Hull His grandfather, William (1690–1774), had made the family fortune in the maritime trade with Baltic countries. He was the only son of Robert Wilberforce (1728–1768), a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth Bird (1730–1798). Wilberforce was born in Hull, in Yorkshire, England, on 24 August 1759. ![]() He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to his friend William Pitt the Younger. Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially repressive legislation, and resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he became a leading English abolitionist. In 1787, Wilberforce came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of activists against the slave trade, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. 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. 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). ![]() William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. ![]()
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