William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833)
William Wilberforce was born in Hull to a wealthy merchant family. After leaving university at 20, he decided on a career in politics and became MP for Hull in 1780 and later Yorkshire, a very influential position. He enjoyed theatres, clubs and parties in London society and was accepted for his wit, charm and conversation. But he turned his back on socializing when he met John Newton, converted to Evangelical Christianity and became interested in social reform. Newton persuaded Wilberforce to stay in politics, and in 1784 he joined the leading group of Evangelical Christians, who became known as the Clapham Sect.
Weakened by illness, Wilberforce at one point weighed a mere 76 pounds but he had a powerful public speaking voice. As the MP for Hull, which was not a slaving port, he was persuaded to take up the cause against slavery in Parliament in 1787 but he lobbied to abolish the slave trade and not slavery itself. He regularly introduced abolition bills but it was not until 1807 that legislation was passed.
Later, Wilberforce supported the complete abolition of slavery and died three days after Parliament passed the bill for the Emancipation Act in 1833, which gave freedom to all slaves in the British empire. His two sons wrote a massive biography of him after his death, crediting him with bringing about the end of slavery and downplaying the role of Clarkson. Indeed, they even doctored or destroyed some of Wilberforce