John Wilkes

John Wilkes MP FRS
John Wilkes by Richard Houston (1769)
Parliamentary offices
1757–1764	Member of Parliament for Aylesbury
1768–1769	Member of Parliament for Middlesex
1774–1790	Member of Parliament for Middlesex
Civic offices
1754–1755	High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire
1771–1772	Sheriff of London
1774–1775	Lord Mayor of London
Personal details
Born	John Wilkes (1725-10-17)17 October 1725 Clerkenwell, London, Great Britain
Died	26 December 1797(1797-12-26) (aged 72) Westminster, London, Great Britain
Resting place	Grosvenor Chapel
Political party	Radical
Spouse	Mary Meade ​ ​ (m. 1747; sep. 1756)​
Children	3
Relatives	Mary Hayley (sister)
Alma mater	Leiden University
Military service
Battles/wars	Gordon Riots
Writing career
Language	English
Literary movement	Radicalism
Notable works	An Essay on Woman The North Briton

John Wilkes FRS (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a 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 Massacre of St George's Fields. In 1771, he was instrumental in obliging the government to concede the right of printers to publish verbatim 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 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 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 no part in the social reforms following the French Revolution, such as Catholic Emancipation in the 1790s. During his life, he earned a reputation as a libertine.