William Smith (1756 – 1835), British politician and dissenter, M.P. for Norwich. 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 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. ... Norwich (pronounced variously Norritch, Norridge) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. ...

Early life

William Smith was born on September 22, 1756 at Clapham (then a village to the south of London), the son of Samuel Smith. Brought up by parents who were Independents, he was educated at the dissenting academy at Daventry until 1772, where he began to come under the influence of Unitarians at an early age. He went into the family grocery business and by 1777 was a partner. September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Clapham is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South London. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... For other uses see Daventry (disambiguation) Daventrys High Street Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England with a population of 22,367 (2001 census). ... Catherine IIs soldiers in the Russo-Turkish War, by Alexandre Benois. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

On September 12, 1781 he married Frances Coape (1758 – 1840), daughter of John and Hannah Coape, both dissenters. Their daughter, Frances Smith, became the mother of Florence Nightingale. Smith and his wife lived in the fashionable village of Clapham, just south of London, moving into the large and elegant Eagle House, Clapham Common. He was already known as a reformer joining the Society for Constitutional Information in 1782. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Sudbury in 1784. September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Florence Nightingale, OM (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910), who came to be known as The Lady with the Lamp, was a pioneer of modern nursing. ... Clapham Common Clapham Common is a triangular area of grassland of about 200 acres (0. ... Hare Khrisna -/ this is the famous god to indian belief. ... 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. ... There are a number of places named Sudbury: Sudbury, Suffolk, England Sudbury, London, England Sudbury, Derbyshire, England Sudbury, Massachusetts, USA Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (official name of the municipality; for most purposes the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury) - the city is served by the Sudbury electoral district...

Dissenter and revolutionary

One of the leading independent politicians of his day, William Smith held strong dissenting Christian convictions - he was a Unitarian, and was thus prevented from attaining the high offices of state. He nevertheless played a leading role in most of the great contemporary parliamentary issues, including the dissenters' demands for the repeal of Test Act and Corporation Acts (for the first time since the 1730s). Although the campaigners were unsuccessful in 1787, they tried again in 1789. For the political magazine, see Dissent Magazine For the G8 protest group, see Dissent (network) Dissent is the sentiment of non-agreement with the majority, or the leader, of a group to which the dissenter is supposed to belong or to obey. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... Look up test in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Corporation Act of 1661 belongs to the general category of test acts, designed for the express purpose of restricting public offices in England to members of the Church of England. ...

In June 1787, Smith was one of the first to support the campaign for the abolition of the slave trade, becoming a vocal advocate for the cause. In 1790 William Smith lost his seat at Sudbury, and in the following January he was elected as M.P. for Camelford, supporting William Wilberforce in the slave trade debate in April. Camelford is a town in Cornwall, England. ... William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 - 29 July 1833) was an English parliamentarian and leader of the campaign against the slave trade. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In the beginning, at least, William Smith was sympathetic to the revolutionary movement in France and visited Paris in 1790, where he attended the July 14 celebrations, and later recorded his reactions to the momentous events he witnessed. In April 1791 he publicly supported the aims and principles of the newly-formed Unitarian Society, including support for the recently won liberty of the French. Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general and the French Revolution in particular. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 5 km/ 3 mi behind. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ...

When Charles Fox introduced a bill for the relief of non-trinitarians in May 1792 Smith supported the Unitarian Society, publicly declaring his commitment to the unitarian cause. The same year he became one of the founding members of the Society of Friends of the People. The Right Honourable Charles James Fox (13 January 1749–13 September 1806) was a British Whig politician. ...

Smith was swiftly gaining a reputation as a radical, even a Jacobin and supporter of the French revolution. Because he had business contacts and friends in Paris, he was more than once asked to act as a go-between for the government. In 1792 he arranged several meetings between William Pitt and Maret, Napoleon's foreign minister, in a desperate attempt to avoid war. The term Jacobin may refer to: Members of the Jacobin Club, a political group during the French Revolution. ... Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general and the French Revolution in particular. ... William Pitt could refer to: William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham; Prime Minister of Great Britain 1766-1768; often known as William Pitt the Elder William Pitt the Younger; his son; Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783-1801) and (1804-1806) William Pitt, Comptroller of the Household to King James... Hugues-Bernard Maret, duke of Bassano (1763–1839) was a French statesman and publicist Biography Hugues-Bernard Maret was born at Dijon (Bourgogne). ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français...

Whig politician

William Smith was active in his support for the Whig opposition party in parliament. In 1796 he was once again returned for Sudbury, but in 1802 accepted the invitation of radicals to stand for Norwich, although he was defeated in the election of 1806, which was fought on a local issue. The Whig party were, however, elected and formed the next government under Lord Grenville. However, Smith was returned again in 1807 and 1812, and became a popular and outspoken radical Member of Parliament for Norwich, which was known for being a gathering place for dissenters and radicals of all kinds. While the Whigs (along with the Tories) are often described as one of the two political parties in late 17th to mid 19th century Great Britain, it is more accurate to describe them as loose political groupings or tendencies. ... The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... Norwich (pronounced variously Norritch, Norridge) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. ... William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (October 25, 1759 - January 12, 1834), was a British statesman and Prime Minister. ... A radical politician is a politician whose views are far removed from the mainstream. ...

In 1813 Smith challenged the established Church, and was responsible for championing the Bill which, for the first time, made it legal to practice Unitarianism. The doctrine of Unitarians was to deny the truth of the Trinity, a central tenet of Church of England doctrine. The term Anglican (from Anglia, the Latin name for England) describes the people and churches that follow the religious traditions developed by the established Church of England. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Unitarian Christianity Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ...

Abolitionist

He became a friend and close associate of William Wilberforce and a member of the Clapham Sect of social reformers, and was in the forefront of many of their campaigns for social justice, prison reform and philanthropic endeavour. While he had been out of parliament he had given his support to the abolition of the slave trade by writing a pamphlet entitled A Letter to William Wilberforce (1807), in which he cogently and convincingly summarised the abolitionists' arguments for abolition. William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 - 29 July 1833) was an English parliamentarian and leader of the campaign against the slave trade. ... The Clapham Sect was an influential group of like-minded social reformers in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century (active c. ... Social justice is a philosophical definition of justice, that is, giving individuals or groups their due within society as a whole. ... Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system. ... Abolition is the act of formally destroying something through legal means, either by making it illegal, or simply no longer allowing it to exist in any form. ...

In 1823 with Zachary Macaulay he helped found the London Society for the Abolition of Slavery in our Colonies, thereby launching the next phase of the campaign to eradicate slavery. Smith's final major contribution to British politics was to finally successfully see through parliament the repeal of the Test Acts in 1828. Zachary Macaulay (1768-1838) was a British colonial governor, influential 18th century philanthropist, a man of evangelical piety and a supporter of William Wilberforce. ...

He died on May 31, 1835 in London. May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...