Overview
William Wilberforce
(1759—1833) politician, philanthropist, and slavery abolitionist
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abolitionism
A term associated with protest on grounds of inhumanity and a call for the abolition of slavery (see, for example, the arguments of William Wilberforce, 1759–1833). More recently extended to the ...
abolitionist
In the 19th century, supporters of the abolition of the slave-trade; the term is recorded from the early 19th century.
African Institution
Founded in 1807, in the wake of the abolition of the British slave trade, the African Institution replaced the Society for the Abolition of Slave Trade (1787) and had similar ...
antislavery
Slavery was regarded in later 18th‐cent. Britain as essential to the exploitation of the West Indian colonies and there was strong opposition to any interference with the institution, particularly ...
anti-Slavery Society
Initially dominated by Quakers and Unitarians, were active in Ireland from the 1780s. The issue was given political prominence by its association with O'Connell, who took a leading part in ...
Beilby Porteus
(1731–1808), Bp. of London from 1787. He was of American descent. He identified himself with the practical ideals of the rising Evangelical school, and he promoted mission work among the Black slaves ...
bowdlerism
Henrietta Maria Bowdler (1753–1830), woman of letters and sermons, and her brother Thomas (1754–1825), physician and philanthropist, contributed their surname to the English language. The Bowdlers ...
British and Foreign Bible Society
One of the largest Bible Societies. An interdenominational body, it was founded in London in 1804 for the printing and distribution of Bibles at home and abroad. It has published translations of the ...
Charles Middleton
(1726–1813).First Baron Barham, British naval administrator, and politician active in the campaign to abolish slavery. Middleton entered the Royal Navy in 1741, passing his lieutenant's examination ...
Charles Simeon
(1759–1836), leader of the Evangelical Revival. From 1783 he was vicar of Holy Trinity, Cambridge. At first he met with hostility, but his pastoral zeal broke down opposition and he exercised much ...
Clapham Sect
An influential evangelical network whose activity in the early 19th cent. found a base in Clapham. The name was popularized and perhaps coined by Sir James Stephen in the Edinburgh Review (1844). The ...
CMS
The ‘Church Mission Society’, founded in 1799, was the first C of E society to send missionaries to the indigenous populations of Africa and Asia. Its theology has always been Evangelical.
Daniel Wilson
(1778–1858),Bp. of Calcutta. The son of a wealthy silk-merchant, whom he was expected to succeed in the business, he was ordained in 1801. In 1807 he became Vice-Principal of ...
evangelicalism
A predominantly Anglican movement stemming from the mid‐18th cent., originally with links to Whitefield and methodism, its characteristics were Calvinistic with a literalist interpretation of the ...
finances of the Brontës
As a sizar at Cambridge Revd Patrick Brontë would pay £10 on admission, 6s. 4d. quarterly tuition fees, and matriculation and graduation fees. To meet these expenses he taught pupils ...
Hannah More
(1745–1833),an eminent member of the Blue Stocking Circle. She published in 1773 The Search for Happiness, a pastoral play for schools, and came to London in 1774, where she became a friend of ...
Henry Martyn
(1781–1812),Anglican missionary. He was born at Truro and studied at St John's College, Cambridge (1797–1801), of which he became a Fellow in 1802. His acquaintance with C. Simeon awakened ...
Henry Thornton
(1760–1815)Henry Thornton was born in London on 10 March 1760, and died at the home of William Wilberforce in Kensington, London on 16 July 1815. His father was John ...
humanitarian
The word ‘humanitarian’ was a 19th-cent. invention and usually had a contemptuous flavour, denoting a tedious, self-advertising busybody. But the roots of humanitarianism run deep. A feeling of ...
Ira Aldridge
(1804?–67), actor.He was often called the first great African‐American actor, although he did virtually none of his performing in the States. Believed to have been born in Africa (although ...
