William Wilberforce
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William Wilberforce was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career
Portrait c. 1794
A statue of William Wilberforce outside Wilberforce House, his birthplace in Hull
William Wilberforce by John Rising, 1790, pictured at the age of 30
Diagram of a slave ship, the Brookes, illustrating how slaves were transported
Barbara Wilberforce
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Barbara Ann Wilberforce was the wife of abolitionist and politician William Wilberforce.
William Wilberforce
…youth, William Wilberforce showed little interest in women, but when he was in his late thirties his friend Thomas Babington recommended 25-year-old Barbara Ann Spooner as a potential bride. Wilberforce met her two days later on 15 April 1797, and was immediately smitten; following an eight-day whirlwind romance, he…
Portrait in about 1797 by John Russell