Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known as the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade) and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended British trade in slaves. He became a pacifist in 1816 and, with his brother, John, was one of the twelve founders of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace. In his later years Clarkson campaigned for the abolition of slavery worldwide. In 1840 he was the key speaker at the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society's first convention in London, which campaigned to end slavery in other countries.