Thomas Clarkson

1760–1846 (age 86)

Biography

Thomas Clarkson lent his writerly gifts to the abolition of the slave trade, traveling the length of Britain and beyond as he collected first-hand accounts, penned powerful essays, and pressed Parliament to confront the inhumanity of slavery. His thorough research, published in works such as his "History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade," provided irrefutable evidence that emboldened a growing movement for emancipation.

In later years he retired to Suffolk, where he continued to write and to counsel younger reformers, leaving behind a memory of fidelity to conscience that endures in the hearts of those who cherish liberty.