Thomas Clarkson

Born in 1760, he became one of the best-known English campaigners against the transatlantic slave trade. After studying at St John’s College, Cambridge, he was moved by the subject of a Latin essay on slavery and devoted much of his life to the cause.

He gathered evidence on the horrors of slave ships, traveled widely to interview sailors and witnesses, and worked closely with other abolitionists to build public support for change. His efforts were important in the campaign that led to Britain abolishing the slave trade in 1807, and he later wrote a major history of that struggle.

He remained active in anti-slavery work for decades afterward, including support for the movement against slavery across the British Empire. Thomas Clarkson died in 1846, remembered as one of the movement’s most persistent and practical organizers.