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| 1728 | Birth |  |
| 24th Aug Hull Birth of William Wilberforce
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| 1780 | Election | |
| Sep Hull Elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull, while still a student at Cambridge
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| 1784 | Election | |
| 6th April Yorkshire Returned as MP for Yorkshire at the age of twenty-four
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| 1786 | Slavery | |
| Wilberforce receives a letter from Captain Sir Charles Middleton, MP, and father-in-law of his old friend Gerard Edwards, which was to ignite again his old interest in the subject of the slave trade
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| 1787 | Committee Abolition of the Slave Trade | |
| June Wilberforce, compelled by his strong Christian faith, is persuaded to become leader of the parliamentary campaign of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
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| 1787 | Slavery | |
| Becomes a convert to anti-slavery
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| The Quaker members of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade recognise their need for influence within Parliament and urge Clarkson to secure an immediate commitment from Wilberforce that he would bring forward the case for abolition in
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| Thomas Clarkson, already convinced of his God-given mission, calls upon Wilberforce at Old Palace Yard with a copy of his Essay on Slavery, the first time the two men had met, and a collaboration was formed which was to last over fifty years
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| 12th May Under what came to be known as the 'Wilberforce Oak' at Holwood, Pitt challenged his friend: "Wilberforce, why don't you give notice of a motion on the subject of the Slave Trade?"
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| June Wilberforce, compelled by his strong Christian faith, is persuaded to become leader of the parliamentary campaign of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
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| 1789 | Slavery | |
| Wilberforce leads the establishment of the Society for Suppression of Vice and Encouragement of Religion to curb political aspiration and support for the French Revolution
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| 12th May When the Privy Council report was published on 25 April 1789, it was finally time for Wilberforce to make his delayed entry into the parliamentary campaign, after months of planning Wilberforce makes his first major speech on the subject of abolition
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| 12th May Wilberforce draws on Thomas Clarkson's evidence in the Commons, he describes in detail the appalling conditions in which slaves travelled from Africa
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| 1789 | Society for Suppression of Vice and Encouragement | |
| Wilberforce leads the establishment of the Society for Suppression of Vice and Encouragement of Religion to curb political aspiration and support for the French Revolution
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| 1790 | Slavery | |
| Jan Wilberforce succeedes in gaining approval for a Parliamentary select committee to consider the slave trade and to examine the vast quantity of evidence which he put forward
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| 1791 | Slavery | |
| April After two evenings of debate, the bill was easily defeated by 163 votes to 88
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| April Wilberforce introduces the first Parliamentary Bill to abolish the slave trade with a closely-reasoned speech which he used to present the facts and evidence that had been gathered, and which lasted four hours
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| 1792 | Legislation | |
| 2nd April Henry Dundas, Home Secretary, proposes a compromise of so-'gradual abolition' over a number of years, passsed by 230 to 85 votes, but the compromise is la clever ploy to indefinitly delay final abolition
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| 1792 | Reform | |
| 2nd April Henry Dundas, Home Secretary, proposes a compromise of so-'gradual abolition' over a number of years, passsed by 230 to 85 votes, but the compromise is la clever ploy to indefinitly delay final abolition
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| 1792 | Slavery | |
| 2nd April Henry Dundas, Home Secretary, proposes a compromise of so-'gradual abolition' over a number of years, passsed by 230 to 85 votes, but the compromise is la clever ploy to indefinitly delay final abolition
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| 2nd April Wilberforce again presents a bill calling for abolition, the memorable debate that followed brought contributions from the greatest orators in the house, William Pitt and Charles Fox, as well as Wilberforce himself
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| 1793 | Slavery | |
| Brings before parliament a Foreign Slave Bill, with the intention of outlawing the use of British ships to the colonies and territories of other countries, Parliament refuses to pass the bill
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| 26th Feb Another propose bill is narrowly lost
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| 1794 | Slavery | |
| Brings before parliament a Foreign Slave Bill, with the intention of outlawing the use of British ships to the colonies and territories of other countries, Parliament refuses to pass the bill
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| 1795 | Slavery | |
| War with France prevents abolition as the public mood is concentrated on the national crisis and the threat of invasion, although Wilberforce continues forwards defeated motions in February 1795, February 1796 and May 1797
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| 1796 | Slavery | |
| 1797 | Slavery | |
| 1799 | Legislation | |
| The Slave Trade Regulation Act is passed to further reduce overcrowding on slave ships
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| 1799 | Reform | |
| The Slave Trade Regulation Act is passed to further reduce overcrowding on slave ships
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| 1799 | Slavery | |
| The Slave Trade Regulation Act is passed to further reduce overcrowding on slave ships
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| 1805 | Slavery | |
| 25th Mar Wilberforce reintroduceS his Bill it in the 1805 session, on this occasion it is defeated on the second reading
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| 1806 | Legislation | |
| The Foreign Slave Trade Act is quickly passed and the tactic proves successful, the new legislation effectively prohibited two-thirds of the British slave trade
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| 1806 | Reform | |
| The Foreign Slave Trade Act is quickly passed and the tactic proves successful, the new legislation effectively prohibited two-thirds of the British slave trade
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| 1806 | Slavery | |
| A change of tactics, which involved introducing a bill to ban British subjects from aiding or participating in the slave trade to the French colonies is suggested by maritime lawyer James Stephen in early 1806
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| The Foreign Slave Trade Act is quickly passed and the tactic proves successful, the new legislation effectively prohibited two-thirds of the British slave trade
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| 1807 | Legislation | |
| 25th Mar The Slave Trade Act receives the royal assent
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| 1807 | Reform | |
| 25th Mar The Slave Trade Act receives the royal assent
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| 1807 | Slavery | |
| Wilberforce's bill passes all its stages through the House of Commons but it was too late in the parliamentary session for it to complete its passage through the House of Lords
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| 31st Jan A Letter on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, an essay summarizing the evidence, is published by Wilberforce and forms the basis for the final phase of the campaign
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| 23rd Feb Charles Grey moves for a second reading in the Commons, as tributes are made to Wilberforce, who had laboured for the cause during the preceding twenty years, the bill was carried by 283 votes to 16
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| 25th Mar The Slave Trade Act receives the royal assent
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| 1823 | Publication | |
| Wilberforce publishes his "Appeal to the Religion, Justice and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies"
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| 1823 | Slavery | |
| Wilberforce publishes his "Appeal to the Religion, Justice and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British Empire in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies"
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| 1833 | Death | |
| 29th July Death of William Wilberforce
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| 1833 | Legislation | |
| Aug Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act which gives all slaves in the British Empire their freedom
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| 1833 | Reform | |
| Aug Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act which gives all slaves in the British Empire their freedom
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| 1833 | Slavery Abolition Act | |
| Aug Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act which gives all slaves in the British Empire their freedom
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| 1833 | Slavery | |
| 26th July Rejoices at the news that the bill for the abolition of slavery had finally passed its third reading in the Commons
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| Aug Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act which gives all slaves in the British Empire their freedom
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