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William Wilberforce

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The Resume

    (August 24, 1759-July 29, 1833)
    Born in Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom
    Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull (1780-84), Yorkshire (1784-1812) and Bramber (1812-25)
    Leading English abolitionist

Why he might be annoying:

    After suffering stress-related ulcerative colitis, he took opium for the rest of his life.
    He disapproved of women participating in the anti-slavery movement.
    He initially opposed Catholic emancipation bills that would allow Catholics to hold public office and serve in the army.
    He supported the Pitt government's repressive measures, including suspension of habeus corpus, press censorship and bans on meetings of more than 50 people.
    Essayist William Hazlitt said he 'preaches vital Christianity to untutored savages, and tolerates its worst abuses in civilised states.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    James Boswell said of his eloquence in Parliament, 'I saw what seemed a mere shrimp mount upon the table; but as I listened, he grew, and grew, until the shrimp became a whale.'
    He joined the abolitionist movement to put his Christian beliefs into action.
    He led the campaign in Parliament that got the slave trade banned (1807).
    He gave away much of his wealth to the needy.
    He was a founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
    He continued campaigning for an end to slavery in the British Empire after resigning from Parliament for health reasons.
    He died the day after being informed of a political compromise that ensured the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 38 Votes: 10.53% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 207 Votes: 45.89% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 25 Votes: 52.00% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying