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Granville Sharp
- Favourite Briton.

Born in Durham, County Durham
Born on 10th of November 1735
Died on 6th of July 1813

Granville Sharp was a campaigner against social injustices, notably as a pioneering anti-slavery campaigner. His father was an Archdeacon and his grandfather Archbishop of York, but lack of funds saw him apprenticed to a London linen-draper. In 1758 he got a civil service job (in the ordnance department) allowing free time for study, and his musical interests. He studied law to defend a slave, Jonathan Strong; won the important Somersett Case; was involved in the infamous Zong Case, and became an abolitionist leader. The idea of a homeland for freed slaves (now Sierra Leone) was his.

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I used to look at these pictures of trumpeters pointing their instrument to the ceiling. Stunning pictures, but if you play the trumpet and point it upwards, all the spit comes back into your mouth! - Humphrey Lyttleton
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On this day:
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