 Statue of John Wilkes (Fetter Lane, London). John Wilkes (17 October 1727 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical, journalist and politician. Download high resolution version (441x640, 78 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Download high resolution version (441x640, 78 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ...
Events 1727 to 1800 - Lt. ...
December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ...
1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked...
The term Radical (latin radix meaning root) has been used since the late 18th century as a label in political science for those favoring or trying to produce thoroughgoing political reforms which can include changes to the social order to a greater or lesser extent. ...
Early life Born in London, Wilkes was the second son of the distiller Israel Wilkes, who had six children. John Wilkes was educated at the Leiden, at a school in Hertford, and also privately. He had a rather ugly squint but his passion for political change outweighed his appearance. In 1747 he married Mary Meade and so came into possession of an estate and income in Buckinghamshire. He soon gained the reputation as something of a rake and was a member of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as The Hellfire Club, and instigator of a prank that may have hastened its dissolution. John had three children. } London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...
Leiden University in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ...
Hertford (Hartford or, in local pronunciation, /[h]É‘ËʔֽfÉ™d/) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ...
Map of Bucks (1904) Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in South East England. ...
The Hellfire Club was an exclusive English club that met irregularly from 1746 to around 1763, run by Sir Francis Dashwood. ...
Radical journalism Wilkes was a supporter of William Pitt the Elder. When John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, a fellow member of the Hellfire Club, came to power in 1762 Wilkes started a radical weekly publication, The North Briton, to attack him, using an anti-Scots tone. Bute resigned in 1763, but Wilkes was equally opposed to his successor, George Grenville. He was charged with seditious libel over attacks on the King's speech at the opening of Parliament in issue Number 45 of on the 23rd of April, 1763. General warrants were issued for the arrest of Wilkes and the publishers on the 30th of April, 1763. Almost fifty people were arrested under the warrants. Wilkes was expelled from the House of Commons and later arrested. However, he gained considerable popular support as he asserted the unconstitutionality of general warrants, and was soon released and restored to his seat. Wilkes began a case against his arresters for trespass. People were chanting "Wilkes, Liberty and Number 45" from this episode. This referred to the 45th volume of the North Briton, a journal published by Wilkes and that had been extremely critical of George the Third's endorsement of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763. His attack of the Monarch (by the subterfuge of attacking his confidant, Lord Bute) in this issue had been deemed outright traitorous by the King himself. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1589x2167, 937 KB) Engraving of John Wilkes (1727-1797), British radical, by the noted painter and engraver William Hogarth. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1589x2167, 937 KB) Engraving of John Wilkes (1727-1797), British radical, by the noted painter and engraver William Hogarth. ...
William Hogarth, self-portrait, 1745 William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764) was a major English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ...
The Right Honourable William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 1708–11 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who achieved his greatest fame as war minister during the Seven Years War (aka French and Indian War) and who was later Prime Minister of Great Britain. ...
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (May 25, 1713 - March 10, 1792), was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762-1763) under George III. A close relative of the Campbell clan (his mother was a daughter of the First Duke of Argyll), Bute succeeded to...
1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
The term Radical (latin radix meaning root) has been used since the late 18th century as a label in political science for those favoring or trying to produce thoroughgoing political reforms which can include changes to the social order to a greater or lesser extent. ...
The North Briton was a radical newspaper published in eighteenth century England by John Wilkes. ...
Arms of George Grenville The Right Honourable George Grenville (October 14, 1712 – November 13, 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served in government for the relatively short period of nine years (reaching the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain); Sir Robert Walpole served as Prime Minister alone for...
In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...
A Writ of Assistance is a legal writ that serves as a general search warrant. ...
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763 was signed on February 10, 1763, by the Kingdom of Great Britain, France and Spain with Portugal in agreement. ...
Outlaw Wilkes's opponents were quick to strike back. A manuscript of Wilkes was obtained and produced in the House of Lords where it was declared libel. Moves were soon underway to expel Wilkes again and this time he fled to Paris before his expulsion or trial. He was found guilty, in absentia, of obscene libel and of seditious libel and was declared an outlaw on the 19th of January, 1764. The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ...
Wilkes hoped for a change in power to remove the charges, but after exhausting his money and stock of goodwill on the continent he returned to England in 1768. He returned intending to stand as MP on an anti-government ticket; curiously, warrants were not issued for his immediate arrest. He stood in London and lost but was quickly elected MP for Middlesex before surrendering to the King's Bench in April and on waiving his right to immunity he was sentenced to two years and fined £1,000. The charge of outlawry was overturned. When Wilkes was imprisoned on the 10th of May that year for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticising King George III, rioting broke out in London. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ...
Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England. ...
George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...
} London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...
Wilkes expected an immediate pardon, which he did not receive; he was also expelled from Parliament in February 1769. He was re-elected by Middlesex in the same month only to be expelled and re-elected in March. In April, having been expelled and winning election again, Parliament declared his opponent the winner. In defiance Wilkes had himself elected an alderman of London in 1769, using his supporters' group, the Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights, to campaign for him. Wilkes eventually succeeded in convincing Parliament into expunging the resolution barring him from sitting. An alderman is a member of a municipal legislative body in a town or city with many jurisdictions. ...
Later life and character On his release in 1770 he was made a sheriff in London and in 1774 he became Lord Mayor. That year he was also re-elected to Parliament, representing Middlesex. He was one of those opposed to war with the American colonies and he was also a supporter of the Association Movement and of religious tolerance. His key success was to protect the freedom of the press, removing the power of general warrants and also the ability of Parliament to punish political reports of debates. Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Freedom of speech. ...
Wilkes was notoriously ugly, with a hideous squint, but had a charm that carried all before it. He boasted that it "took him only half an hour to talk away his face" and would declare that "a month's start of his rival on account of his face" would secure him the conquest in any love affair.
He was well known for his verbal wit and his snappy responses to insults. For instance, former friend and member of the Hellfire Club, Lord Sandwich shouted to him "You, Sir, will either die of the pox or the gallows!" Wilkes responded "That would depend on whether I embrace your lordship's mistresses or your principles." When told by a constituent that he would rather vote for the devil, Wilkes responded: "Naturally". He then added: "And if your friend decides against standing, can I count on your vote?" Hellfire Club Entrance in the ruins of Medmenham Abbey (2005) The Hellfire Club was an exclusive English club that met irregularly from 1746 to around 1763, run by Sir Francis Dashwood. ...
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, 1783, by Sir Thomas Gainsborough John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (3 November 1718 – 3 April 1792) succeeded his grandfather, Edward, the 3rd Earl, in the earldom in 1729. ...
A constituent is someone who can or does appoint or elect (and often by implication can also remove or recall) another as her agent or representative. ...
His popularity fell from around 1780 as he became less radical. He headed the forces putting down the Gordon Riots and when the phrase "Wilkes and Liberty!" was said to him in later years he would turn away. While he was comfortably re-elected for Middlesex that year and again in 1784, by 1790 he found so little support that he withdrew early in the election. The Gordon Riots is a term used to refer to a number of events in a predominantly Protestant religious uprising in London aimed against the Roman Catholic Relief Act, 1778, relieving his Majestys subjects, of the Catholic Religion, from certain penalties and disabilities imposed upon them during the reign...
The Dutch politician Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol (1741–1784), who advocated the American Revolution and criticized the Stadtholder regime, was inspired by Wilkes. Joan Derk baron van der Capellen tot den Poll (November 2, 1741–June 6, 1784) was a Dutch nobleman who played a prominent role in the formation of the Batavian Republic and the revolutionary events that preceded its formation. ...
The American Revolution was a revolution that ended two centuries of rule in Thirteen Colonies of North America by the British Empire and created the modern United States of America. ...
A stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder meaning place holder, a Germanic parallel to Latin locum tenens or French lieutenant), means an official who is appointed by the legal ruling Monarch to represent him in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in his name, in the latter case roughly...
Trivia Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer and explorer. ...
Eponyms - American actor and assassin John Wilkes Booth was named after, and a claimed relation of, John Wilkes.
- The city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania was named for John Wilkes and Isaac Barré.
- Wilkes University, a four-year, independent, non-sectarian college in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Wilkes Street in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor. ...
Wilkes-Barre (IPA: , , or [1]) is a city located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, of which it is the county seat. ...
Isaac Barré (1726—1802), British soldier and politician, was born at Dublin in 1726, the son of a French refugee. ...
Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. ...
Map Political Statistics Founded 1718 County Independent city Mayor William D. Euille Geographic Statistics Area - Total - Land - Water 39. ...
Bibliography Wikisource has original works written by or about: - Holdsworth, William (1938). A History of English Law Vol. 10, pp. 659–672, ISBN 0421051000.
- Rudé, George (1962). Wilkes and Liberty: A Social Study of 1763 to 1774, ISBN 0198810911.
- Williamson, Audrey (1974). Wilkes, A Friend of Liberty, ISBN 0049230646.
- Cash, Arthur (2006). John Wilkes: The Scandalous Father of Civil Liberty, ISBN 0300108710.
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