Charles James Fox

Born in London on January 24, 1749, Charles James Fox came from a powerful political family and was educated at Eton and Hertford College, Oxford. He entered Parliament at just nineteen and quickly became known for his extraordinary speaking ability, his independence, and a private life that was as colorful as his public career.

Fox became a leading figure in the Whig party and spent much of his long parliamentary life in opposition to King George III and to William Pitt the Younger. He supported causes that made him admired by some and feared by others, including American independence, Catholic emancipation, religious tolerance, and the abolition of the slave trade. He also served as Foreign Secretary, and is remembered as Britain’s first holder of that office in its modern form.

His career was full of setbacks, political feuds, and personal excess, yet his reputation endured because of his charm, loyalty to friends, and passionate defense of liberty. He died on September 13, 1806, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, a sign of the lasting mark he left on British public life.