john wilkes

listen to the pronunciation of john wilkes
English - English
born Oct. 17, 1725, London, Eng. died Dec. 26, 1797, London English politician. The son of a successful malt distiller, he was educated at an academy at Hertford and afterward privately tutored. His marriage to Mary Meade (1747), heiress of the manor of Aylesbury, brought him a comfortable fortune and an assured status among the gentry of Buckinghamshire. A profligate by nature, he was a member of the so-called Hell-Fire Club, which indulged in debauchery and the performance of Black Masses, and he bribed voters to win election to the House of Commons (1757). For an attack on the government in his journal the North Briton (1763), he was prosecuted for libel and expelled from Parliament. Reelected, he continued to print his attacks on the government and was again tried for libel and expelled (1764). Regarded as a victim of persecution and a champion of liberty, he gained widespread popular support. He was again elected to Parliament and again expelled (1769). He become lord mayor of London in 1774. Back in the House of Commons (1774-90), he supported parliamentary reform and freedom of the press

Related Terms

John Wilkes Booth
(1838-1865) assassin of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, member of the Confederate Army
John Wilkes Booth
the man who shot and killed US President Abraham Lincoln (1838-65). born May 10, 1838, near Bel Air, Md., U.S. died April 26, 1865, near Port Royal, Va. U.S. actor and assassin of Pres. Abraham Lincoln. Born into a family of famous actors, he achieved success in Shakespearean roles but resented the greater acclaim enjoyed by his brother, Edwin Booth. A fanatical believer in slavery and the Southern cause, he made plans with co-conspirators to abduct Lincoln; after several failed attempts, he vowed to destroy the president and his cabinet. On April 14, 1865, he shot Lincoln during a performance at Ford's Theatre. Though he broke his leg jumping from the president's box, he was able to escape on horseback to a Virginia farm. Tracked down, he refused to surrender and was shot, either by a soldier or by himself
john wilkes

    Hyphenation

    John Wilkes

    Turkish pronunciation

    cän wîlks

    Pronunciation

    /ˈʤän ˈwəlks/ /ˈʤɑːn ˈwɪlks/
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