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John Wilkes ('English Liberty established or a Mirrour for Posterity')

19 of 49 portraits of John Wilkes

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Wilkes ('English Liberty established or a Mirrour for Posterity')

printed for J. Lee, sold by John Williams, sold by J. Kingsberry
etching and line engraving, published May 1768
6 1/8 in. x 10 1/2 in. (155 mm x 267 mm) plate size; 19 5/8 in. x 12 1/8 in. (498 mm x 309 mm) paper size
Given by James Lungley Douthwaite, 1929
Reference Collection
NPG D21661

Sitterback to top

  • John Wilkes (1725-1797), Journalist, agitator and politician; MP for Aylesbury and Middlesex. Sitter associated with 49 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.

Artistsback to top

  • J. Kingsberry (active 1868), Bookseller. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
  • J. Lee (active 1768). Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
  • John Williams (active 1762-died 1779), Publisher. Artist or producer associated with 2 portraits.

Related worksback to top

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Events of 1768back to top

Current affairs

William Pitt the Elder retires as Prime Minister due to ill health and is succeeded by Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton.
Radical outlaw John Wilkes returns to England from France and is elected as MP for Middlesex. He finally surrenders to the King's Bench and is imprisoned.

Art and science

The Royal Academy is founded with painter Joshua Reynolds as its first president.
Encyclopaedia Britannica begins publication in Edinburgh. It appears in weekly instalments under the editorship of William Smellie.
Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in what is now Waterloo.
Laurence Sterne publishes A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.


International

Captain James Cook leads his first expedition to the Pacific from Plymouth, heading for Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus.
Boston citizens refuse to quarter British troops amidst growing unrest in the American colonies
Corsica is sold to France by the Republic of Genoa.

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