John Wilkes Biography

John Wilkes, who was famous as a libertine of his age, was a journalist, best remembered for introducing the first ‘bill’ in the British Parliament. During his time the British Parliament was rampant with corruption and malpractices which impacted its economy and as well its governance. As an exponent of public liberty, he involved himself in active politics and stood in opposition to the government. He launched virulent attacks on the reigning king and his government (while in the House of Commons) for which he was expelled from the Parliament and was dubbed as an ‘outlaw’. Encountering failure every time he stood for Parliament elections, he decided that press is the only way to combat the government. Acting as an anti-government campaigner he led some protests and published articles disapproving the administration, several of which were directed towards the king and the Prime Minister. As expected, he earned the spite of the government officials and was imprisoned a number of times for having committed libel against the authority. Also, there were several bans imposed on the press by the government to inhibit the media from publishing undesired news. However, Wilkes did not give in to any pressure or punishment and fought religiously for the liberty of the press. Scroll down and acquaint yourself with this indomitable personality.