JOHN, who occupies so conspicuous a place in the political history of the early part of the reign of George III., was born in London in 1727. He received a liberal education, and retained throughout life a strong love for the Latin classics. On completing his education he travelled on the Continent, subsequently married a lady of fortune, and in 1761 entered parliament as member for Aylesbury. It was a period of great political excitement; the king had begun his contest with the great Whig families who had ruled supreme since the accession of the Hanover dynasty; and Wilkes, espousing what was termed the cause of liberty, attacked the government with great violence in the North Briton newspaper, of which he was editor. He had even the temerity, in the well known No. 45 of the newspaper, to charge his Majesty with falsehood; and for this flagrant offence a king's messenger, armed with a general warrant against editor, printers, and publishers, apprehended him. His papers were seized, and he was lodged in the Tower. A few days after he was brought to trial in Westminster Hall, and released on privilege of parliament. The offending number of the North Briton was, however, burnt by the hangman; and Wilkes was expelled the House. Nothing daunted, Wilkes prosecuted the Secretary of State for having seized him illegally; and the trial definitively settled the important constitutional maxim, that general warrants are inconsistent with the laws of England. About the same time, Wilkes was prosecuted for printing an obscene poem, and was outlawed for non-appearance. He retired to France; but at the general election of 1768, he stood for Middlesex, and was returned by a large majority. His outlawry on submission was reversed, but he was liable to imprisonment. He was accordingly arrested, but a riot ensued, and the mob rescued him. The House of Commons voted that their censure disqualified him for ever from sitting in the House; his constituency considered this vote of the House as an infringement of their privileges, and returned Wilkes four times in succession as their member, while the House as often rejected him. The contest agitated the whole country; Wilkes became the popular idol; a general subscription defrayed his debts; and in 1774, the year of his mayoralty, he took his seat without opposition. More important events, however, now attracted attention, and Wilkes sank into obscurity, and died unnoticed in 1797.