William Wilberforce

1759 (Hull, England) – 1833 (London)

Clarkson and More were among those who persuaded Wilberforce to fight for the abolition of slavery; later, honeymooning, he stayed with More. Wedgwood met and corresponded with Wilberforce, and produced an anti-slavery medallion. Wilberforce visited Owen, who dedicated an influential essay to him, and corresponded about abolitionist issues with Morse. Southey, another correspondent, noted Wilberforce’s liveliness. Travelling in France with close friend William Pitt, Wilberforce met Franklin in Paris. The ex-slave-trader and author of ‘Amazing Grace’, Newton, was a visitor to Wilberforce’s aunt’s house; Wilberforce lived there after his father’s death, and said he revered Newton “like a parent.”