abolitionists

born to a wealthy merchant family in Kingston-upon-Hull; elected to Parliament at the age of 21; converted to evangelical Christianity in 1785; sponsored a bill to reform the criminal law (passed the Commons but defeated in the Lords); founded the Proclamation Society in 1787 (for the suppression of vice and reformation of public manners); at the urging of his friend William Pitt, he became the leader of the parliamentary abolitionist movement later that year; worked with Clarkson to present evidence to the Privy Council; presented his first Abolition Bill to Parliament in 1789 [text of speech]; the bill was met by the tactics of parliamentary delay for the next two years; when the bill failed in 1791, Wilberforce and the Abolition Society (which he did not join until 1794) stepped up the public campaign (held meetings and lectures, published pamphlets, circulated petitions, and organized a sugar boycott); at the outbreak of war with France, the public's attention shifted away from abolition (though not before Parliament, at the suggestion of Henry Dundas, passed a bill calling for the gradual abolition of the slavery, a position Wilberforce did not support); Wilberforce continued introducing abolition bills during the 1790s but public support was lacking and the slavers' lobby strong; founded the Bible Society and a society to better the conditions of the poor; the Abolition Society reformed in 1804 and renewed the public campaign; Wilberforce introduced bills in 1804 and 1805, but the legislation did not succeed until 1807; Wilberforce turned to the abolition of slavery, which Parliament finally declared in 1833, three days before his death

John_Wesley	1703-1791	founder of Methodism; educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he started a Bible study of devout Christians (nicknamed "methodists"); Church of England clergyman; missionary to Georgia; personal crisis followed by spiritual rebirth; profoundly influenced by the Moravians; excluded by the Church of England in 1739; as an itinerant preacher, spread the gospel of personal salvation; brother Charles Wesley (1707-88) was another leading Methodist preacher and hymn-writer
Granville Sharp	1735-1813	government clerk; friend and advocate of Jonathan Strong, a slave in London; published the first major English abolitionist tract in 1769: A Representation of the injustice and dangerous tendency of admitting the least claim of private property in the persons of men, in England, etc,; corresponded with PA Quaker and abolitionist Anthony Benezet and John Wesley; moving force behind the Somerset case; sided with the colonists during the American War of Independence; supporter of the Sierra Leone project in 1787, which ultimately ended in disaster; co-founder of the Abolition society; prolific pampleteer, both on abolition and other topics; a prominent evangelical Anglian who led the successful movement to introduce the episcopacy into the U.S.
Oladuah Equiano	c._1745-1797	according to his autobiography, born in West Africa, kidnapped as a child, and sold into slavery; had several masters and travelled extensively before purchasing his freedom; ended up in London, where he became involved in the abolition movement; published The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African, an abolitionist autobiography in 1789; the book became a bestseller; see http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/index.htm
Hannah More	1745-1783	born and educated at Bristol and began publishing during the 1760s; wrote plays as a young woman, but turned away from the theatre and began writing religious tracts; met Clarkson and Wilberforce in 1787; developed a deep friendship with Wilberforce; joined the Abolition Society and contributed "Slavery, A Poem"; helped with the organizing efforts of the 1780s; a member of the Clapham Sect and moving force behind the Religious Tracts Society
Thomas_Clarkson	1760-1846	wrote prize-winning essay as a Cambridge student: A Summary View of the Slave Trade and of the Probable Causes of Its Abolition; co-founder of the Abolition Society, for whom he worked as principle fact-finder; travelled tirelessly throughout Britain; Clarkson's evidence fueled both the parliamentary campaign (spearheaded by William Wilberforce) and the public education campaign; authored several abolitionist tracts; went to France to convince the revolutionary government to abolish slavery; collapsed from a breakdown in 1794; rejoined the movement in 1803; once again played an instrumental role in the fact-finding and public campaign that led to abolition in 1807; wrote History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade; involved in the cause of abolition until his death
William Wilberforce	1759-1833	born to a wealthy merchant family in Kingston-upon-Hull; elected to Parliament at the age of 21; converted to evangelical Christianity in 1785; sponsored a bill to reform the criminal law (passed the Commons but defeated in the Lords); founded the Proclamation Society in 1787 (for the suppression of vice and reformation of public manners); at the urging of his friend William Pitt, he became the leader of the parliamentary abolitionist movement later that year; worked with Clarkson to present evidence to the Privy Council; presented his first Abolition Bill to Parliament in 1789 [text of speech]; the bill was met by the tactics of parliamentary delay for the next two years; when the bill failed in 1791, Wilberforce and the Abolition Society (which he did not join until 1794) stepped up the public campaign (held meetings and lectures, published pamphlets, circulated petitions, and organized a sugar boycott); at the outbreak of war with France, the public's attention shifted away from abolition (though not before Parliament, at the suggestion of Henry Dundas, passed a bill calling for the gradual abolition of the slavery, a position Wilberforce did not support); Wilberforce continued introducing abolition bills during the 1790s but public support was lacking and the slavers' lobby strong; founded the Bible Society and a society to better the conditions of the poor; the Abolition Society reformed in 1804 and renewed the public campaign; Wilberforce introduced bills in 1804 and 1805, but the legislation did not succeed until 1807; Wilberforce turned to the abolition of slavery, which Parliament finally declared in 1833, three days before his death