Birth of William Wilberforce, English philanthropist, in Yorkshire, England. He became a Christian in early life and entered politics in 1790. Wilberforce, John Newton and Thomas Clarkson brilliantly undermined the arguments and efforts of those in favor of slavery. Complete abolition of slavery in England came just before his death in 1833. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Church Missionary Society in 1799, as well as the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804. Wilberforce College in Ohio (founded in 1856), the second oldest institution for black higher education in the U.S., was named after him.