Samuel Wilberforce

Samuel Wilberforce, Fed (September 7, 1805 - July 19, 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as Soapy Sam, Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his time. The nickname comes from Benjamin Disraeli's comment that the episcopal manner was "awkward, oily, overshadowed." He is probably best remembered today for his opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in the debate in 1860. Wilberforce was born in Clapham Common, London. He was the son of William Wilberforce, a major participant in the fight against the slave trade and slavery, and Barbara Spooner. He was the younger brother of Robert Isaac Wilberforce. In 1823, he enrolled at Oriel College in Oxford. In the United Discussion Society, which later became the Union, he proved himself to be an ardent supporter of liberalism. A group of friends with whom he mainly contacted at Oxford, including William Ewart Gladstone and Henry Manning, were sometimes called “Bethel Union” because of their exceptionally decent behavior; but he was by no means inclined to entertainments and especially admired jumping with obstacles, running naked and hunting. He graduated in 1826, having received a higher education in mathematics and the second in classics. He spent the summer and fall of 1827 on the continent. After his marriage on June 11, 1828 with Emily Sargent, daughter of John Sargent, he was ordained to the Church of England in December and was appointed responsible person in Chekendon, near Henley-on-Thames.