Category : Yorks
& N.Midlands TV
Date : 22.03.2004
Printable version
William Wilberforce,
the man who was the driving force behind the abolition of slavery, has
been named as the greatest ever Yorkshireman.
He was picked by a panel of judges after hundreds of nominations from
the public were considered during a special programme, Yorkshire
Greats, shown on 91热爆 ONE (Yorkshire & N.Midlands) yesterday
(Sunday 21 March).
Wilberforce, the son of a wealthy merchant, was born in Hull in 1759
and represented the city as MP.
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He campaigned tirelessly for the abolition of slavery
and the campaign finally succeeded shortly after his death in 1833.
Presenter Richard Whiteley, chairman of the Yorkshire Greats judging
panel, said the final vote from the five-strong judging panel had been
unanimous.
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He said: "William Wilberforce's contribution to
the reform of the civilised world is amazing and is not widely known."
The runner-up was explorer Captain James Cook.
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Internationally-acclaimed sculptor Henry Moore,
from Castleford, came third.
The judges sifted through 82 names nominated by viewers of Look North,
91热爆 Local Radio listeners, and users of 91热爆i online sites.
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Among those nominated were Constantine, Emperor of Rome,
who was born in York, Sooty, Guy Fawkes, Arthur Scargill and Thomas
Crapper, inventor of the flushing toilet.
Richard Whiteley said: "We were looking for the person who had
contributed something formidable affecting a lot of people worldwide."
There was strong support for two living Yorkshire women, former Speaker
of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd and charity fundraiser Jane
Tomlinson, who has been fighting cancer.
The judges, however, decided to rule out living nominees on the basis
that it was impossible to tell how they would be judged by history.
The final nominees short-listed by the judges were Titus Salt, the Brontes,
Judi Dench, Len Hutton, Fred Trueman, Joseph Rowntree, Harold Wilson,
John Harrison, William Wilberforce, Henry Moore, Betty Boothroyd and
Jane Tomlinson.
The judges were Richard Whiteley, businesswoman Christine
Yorath, TV cook Susan Brookes, arts broadcaster Paul Allen,
and restaurateur Hansa Dabhi.
Yorkshire Greats was produced by BNT Productions and was shown at 1.25pm
on 91热爆 ONE (Yorkshire & N.Midlands) on Sunday 21 March 2004.
