John Wilkes

John Wilkes
A 1769 portrait of John Wilkes, by Richard Houston.
Born	(1727-10-17)17 October 1727 Clerkenwell, Great Britain
Died	26 December 1797(1797-12-26) (aged 72) Westminster, Great Britain
Occupation	Magistrate Essayist Journalist MP
Language	English
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Leiden
Literary movement	Radicalism An Essay on Woman The North Briton (newspaper)

Radicalism

John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical, journalist, and politician.

He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of his voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives. In 1768 angry protests of his supporters were suppressed in the St George's Fields Massacre. In 1771, he was instrumental in obliging the government to concede the right of printers to publish accounts of parliamentary debates. In 1776, he introduced the first bill for parliamentary reform in the British Parliament.

During the American War of Independence, he was a supporter of the American rebels, adding further to his popularity with American Whigs. In 1780, however, he commanded militia forces which helped put down the Gordon Riots, damaging his popularity with many radicals. This marked a turning point, leading him to embrace increasingly conservative policies which caused dissatisfaction among the progressive-radical low-to-middle income landowners. This was instrumental in the loss of his Middlesex parliamentary seat in the 1790 general election. At the age of 65, Wilkes retired from politics and took part in progressive social reforms such as Catholic Emancipation in the 1790s following the French Revolution. During his life, he earned a reputation as a libertine.