Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke born .1729/1730 Whig politician, founding father of conservative political thought and noted author served as M.P. for Bristol in 1774-1780.. Though born in Dublin to a Catholic mother, his Protestant father sent him to a Quaker School in Ireland and his Protestantism made it possible for him to stand for parliament. He favoured the easing of restrictions on English Catholics at a time when hostility to them was still rife. His brother Richard was Recorder (Judge) for Bristol and his Quaker contacts led to his friendship with the Bristol porcelain manufacturer Richard Champion who acted as his election agent.