born Jan. 24, 1749, London, Eng.
died Sept. 13, 1806, Chiswick, Devon
British politician.
He entered Parliament in 1768 and became leader of the George III and was later an enemy of {{link=Pitt, William, the Elder">William Pitt . He served as Britain's first foreign secretary (1782, 1783, 1806). He achieved two important reforms by steering through Parliament a resolution pledging it to end the slave trade and by enacting the 1792 Libel Act, which restored to juries their right to decide what constituted libel and whether or not a defendant was guilty of it. He is remembered as a great champion of liberty.