William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce is famous as someone who fought against slavery and helped to make it illegal in Britain.
He was born into a rich family in the north of England and studied at Cambridge University.
While there, he was more interested in having a good time than in studying or worrying about other people.
However, when he was still in his twenties he went on a tour of Europe and, when he returned,
he was a different person.
He helped to change the law and was against racism which was quite unusual at the time.
He also tried to help other people.  He understood that education could help to reduce poverty,
and he gave money for special schools for poor people.  
He was a kind, generous man and he found it impossible to get fire the people who worked for him,
even when they were old and couldn’t do their jobs properly.

There were some things he disagreed with, though.
He didn’t like protest marches or demonstrations by workers and he was also against women rights.
However, this wasn’t surprising for someone born in 1759,
and we should remember him for the good things he did rather than the things he didn’t do.