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protests were especially violent in the 1760s, as groups rode at night, dressed in white shirts, destroying houses and property.

Whitefield, George (1714–1770)

Methodist evangelist

Whitefield joined John and Charles WESLEY at OXFORD UNIVERSITY as a member of the Holy Club. He, like John, went to Georgia as a missionary, returned to ENGLAND, and began to preach to large open-air meetings. He disagreed with Wesley on doctrine, but he continued to preach and to travel in the British Isles and America.

Whitehall

This palace in LONDON had been rebuilt by Thomas WOLSEY, and it was taken by HENRY VIII in 1529. Whitehall replaced the royal residence in Westminster Palace lost by fire in 1512. After reconstruction by JAMES VI AND I it was used as a royal residence during the 17th century, but another fire in 1698 destroyed many of the buildings. The space began to be taken over by government offices in the 18th century. The street of the same name in Westminster was occupied by government offices in the 19th century, and hence the name came to be used as a general term for the government bureaucracy.

Whitehead, Alfred North (1861–1947) mathematician, philosopher

Born into a family of churchmen, Whitehead studied at Sherborne School and Trinity College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. A Fellow there in 1884, one of his students was Bertrand RUSSELL. They collaborated on Principia Mathematica (3 vols, 1910–13). He resigned in 1910 and moved to University College, LONDON, and then he took a chair in applied mathematics at Imperial College (1914–24). He devoted increasing effort to philosophy, writing The Concept of Nature (1920) and

The Principle of Relativity (1922). In 1924 he left

for Harvard University and taught there until 1937, working on a synthesis of metaphysics and science: Adventures of Ideas (1933) and Modes of Thought (1938).

Whitgift, John (1530–1604) archbishop of Canterbury, 1583–1604

Born in Grimsby, where his father was a merchant, Whitgift studied at CAMBRIDGE UNIVER- SITY. Later he became professor of divinity at Cambridge and master of Trinity College, and he was made BISHOP of Worcester in 1577. In 1583

he was named ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY after

Edmund GRINDAL had been dismissed. He was instrumental in the enforcement of Queen ELIZ- ABETH I’s acts of UNIFORMITY. A staunch Calvinist, he allowed no PURITAN deviations from the established order.

Wilberforce, William (1759–1833) evangelical leader

Born to a wealthy merchant from Hull, Wilberforce was educated at St. John’s College, CAM-

BRIDGE UNIVERSITY. A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

from 1780, he was converted to EVANGELICAL beliefs in 1784. This led him to found and join public associations for worthy causes: the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1787); the Proclamation Society, which prosecuted vice and blasphemy (1787); the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor (1796); the Church Missionary Society (1799); and the Bible Society (1804). He and his like-minded members of the CLAPHAM SECT (James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, Henry Thornton) were powerful voices for rectitude in public life and public policy.

Wilde, Oscar (1854–1900) playwright

Born in DUBLIN, where his father was a surgeon, Wilde was educated at Trinity College, Dublin,

and at OXFORD UNIVERSITY. He wrote Poems

(1881), short stories, and a novel, The Picture of

Oscar Wilde (Library of Congress)

Dorian Gray (1891), but his true craft was writing for the stage. Among his works were Lady Windermere’s Fan (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). In the latter year he was tried and convicted for homosexual acts and sentenced to two years’ hard labor. After his release he went into exile in France, where he died a few years later.

Wilkes, John (1727–1797) radical politician

A flamboyant and provocative personality, Wilkes produced several significant political crises. As the son of a wealthy distiller, he entered PAR- LIAMENT in 1757, supported William PITT the elder, and thus was opposed to the ministry of Lord BUTE. In 1762 Wilkes began a journal called the North Briton, which he used to attack the

king’s first minister. He was arrested on a GEN- ERAL WARRANT for the contents of issue 45. Eventually he won his case on the illegality of the WARRANT, but meanwhile he was condemned and expelled by Parliament. He fled to France but returned in 1768 and was imprisoned on the earlier libel charge. Nevertheless, he campaigned to regain his seat. He became a popular hero, and mobs were brought out to demonstrate on his behalf. After several elections and rejections, Wilkes was released from prison in 1770. He had by now become a cult hero, his followers marching under the banner “Wilkes and Liberty!” He was elected alderman and then lord mayor of LONDON (1774). Again chosen by the voters of Middlesex, this time he was seated in Parliament (1774–90). Wilkes had been exonerated in the case of general warrants and had won damages in a suit against the SECRETARY OF STATE. His group, the Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights, was an early model for the increasingly organized radical political community of the late 18th century.

Wilkinson, John (1728–1808) ironmaster

Born to an ironmaster in Cumberland, Wilkinson created his own successful business, building the first blast furnace in Staffordshire and then a plant for boring cylinders. His work was of such precision that it was chosen for the machines of Matthew BOULTON and James WATT. His greatest success was in manufacturing cannons, for which he earned large orders from the government.

William III (1650–1702)

king of England and Scotland, 1689–1702, and Ireland, 1691–1702

William of Orange was the son of William, the Prince of Orange, and Mary, the daughter of CHARLES I. William became the stadtholder, or chief executive, of Holland and Zeeland during the struggle against an Anglo-French alliance. In 1677 he married his cousin Mary, daughter of

James, the duke of York (later JAMES VII AND II). He was thus in a key position when dissident Protestant Englishmen sought relief from the Catholic restoration imminent under James II. William was invited by a cross-section of English leaders to lead an expedition to ENGLAND. As he did so, James fled to the continent, and the way was open for William and Mary to take the English throne as well as that of SCOTLAND. Meanwhile, a Catholic revival in IRELAND supported the exiled king, and William had to lead an army there to seize power (1690–91). Part of the new king’s design was to secure the resources of England in his fight against the French, which warfare resumed in 1689 and went on until 1697. At the end of it, France recognized his title in England, and it remained for William to secure the succession. His wife had died in 1694; her sister Anne had one surviving son who died in 1701. Thus an Act of SETTLEMENT was passed in the latter year, vesting the title in the House of HANOVER. William’s reign had settled a Protestant line to the throne, and his own background and conduct of affairs had eased the transition to a constitutional monarchy.

William IV (1765–1837)

king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1830–1837

The third son of GEORGE III, William entered naval service at 13. He lived with an actress, Mrs. Jordan, for 20 years and had 10 children with her. Meanwhile he was made duke of Clarence (1789) and admiral (1799). He married a German princess in 1818 and had two daughters, both of whom died in infancy. His eldest brother, GEORGE IV, assumed the throne in 1820 after being regent for 10 years. The next brother, the duke of York, died in 1827, and thus William became the heir apparent. He became king at the age of 65 and was faced at once with the political crisis which resulted in the REFORM ACT of 1832. He opposed the measure, but after a resounding electoral victory for the WHIGS, he gave in. In 1834 he dismissed his Whig ministers

and called Lord MELBORNE to be PRIME MINISTER.

But he was unable to win a majority at the next election, and the king had to accept the previous ministers. This was the last time a monarch tried to replace ministers who had the support of the HOUSE OF COMMONS. William died without (legitimate) heirs, and he was succeeded by his niece

VICTORIA.

Wilson, Sir Harold (1916–1995) prime minister, 1964–1970, 1974–1976

An economist, Wilson served in the CABINET of

WORLD WAR II. Elected to PARLIAMENT in 1945,

he became president of the BOARD OF TRADE under Clement ATTLEE. In 1963 he won the leadership of the LABOUR PARTY and then won the general election of 1964, but only with a margin of four seats. He was able to expand that lead to 97 seats in the 1966 election. His promise of a modern and technological approach to government was not fulfilled. Instead there were continuing economic problems which led to devaluation in 1967. Economic difficulty also barred policy agreement with the TRADE UNIONs, one of his main constituencies. Defeated by Edward HEATH in 1970, Wilson returned to power in 1974, but the economic problems persisted, and he resigned in 1976.

Wimbledon

The All England Club hosts its Lawn Tennis Championship in suburban Wimbledon in Southwest LONDON every year. The event began in 1877, with women’s matches from 1884. In 1968 the open era began, with professional players being allowed to compete with the amateurs.

window tax

All dwellings except cottages were taxed in 1695, in an effort to support the military expenses of the country. This tax replaced the older hearth tax, and it was scaled for less than 10, 10 to 20, or more than 20 windows. The tax was revised, and rates were increased during the

1790s. It was impossible to evade, except by closing up or not building windows. But it was widely unpopular, sharply cut in 1823, and abolished in 1851, replaced by a house duty on all inhabited dwellings.

Windsor

The House of Windsor: the renamed royal family, originally German (Hanover, Brunswick, SaxeCoburg). However, in WORLD WAR I, German names caused embarrassment; thus prince Louis of Battenburg had to resign his naval commission, and King GEORGE V was obliged to remove the honors bestowed on his cousin, the German Kaiser. The name Windsor was taken in 1917.

Windsor Castle: the largest castle in ENGLAND and a principal royal residence. Its construction was begun by William the Conqueror, and through many additions it grew into an imposing fortress and later a palatial residence. A serious fire in 1992 led to a series of concessions by Queen ELIZABETH II, from paying taxes to opening BUCKINGHAM PALACE to tourists, to help to defray the cost of repairs.

Windsor, duke of See EDWARD VII.

Wingate, Orde (1903–1944) soldier

Born in INDIA, Wingate organized special forces in PALESTINE (1936–39), fought in The SUDAN, and captured Addis Ababa in 1941. Assigned to the Far East, he led a force (“Chindits”) operating behind Japanese lines in BURMA, using gliders and air supply drops. He died in an plane crash in the jungle.

Winstanley, Gerrard (1609–1660) reformer

An apprentice and farmworker, Winstanley was caught up in the turmoil of the 1640s, wrote tracts on millennial themes, and then founded

the communal movement known as the “Diggers” (1649). They created communities on common lands in southern ENGLAND, and Winstanley wrote their manifestos about the evil of property and the dawn of common ownership and equality. The Diggers were attacked and dispersed by local farmers, and sometimes by COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND soldiers. Winstanley’s last work, The Law of Freedom in a Platform (1652), was dedicated to Oliver CROMWELL.

Winthrop, John (1588–1649) governor of Massachusetts

Born into a Suffolk family, Winthrop studied at Trinity College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY; and the Inner Temple (see INNS OF COURT). In 1630 he and other PURITANS left for America. Winthrop was subsequently chosen governor of the Massachusetts colony, a post he held intermittently for 15 of the next 20 years.

Wishart, George (1513–1546)

Scottish reformer

Born in SCOTLAND, Wishart was accused of heresy and migrated to ENGLAND, then to Germany and Switzerland, where he adopted Calvinist principles. He returned to Scotland and preached; one of his followers was John KNOX. Arrested in 1546, he was taken to St. Andrews, tried for heresy, and burned. Months later, Cardinal BEATON was murdered in an apparent reaction to Wishart’s death.

Wodehouse, P(elham) G(renville)

(1881–1975) author

Son of a colonial civil servant, Wodehouse went to school at Dulwich College. The family had no money for university, so he was sent to work in a bank. He wrote industriously and became a freelance writer in 1902. He visited the United States in 1904 and began what became a transatlantic career that included writing lyrics for

musicals by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin. From 1920 he devoted more time to his novels, many of which featured Bertie Wooster and his manservant Jeeves in addition to other characters (Indiscretions of Archie, 1921; The Clicking of Cuthbert, 1922; The Inimitable Jeeves, 1932; Uncle Fred in the Springtime, 1939). With his 98 books, including 16 volumes of short stories, plus his work on 31 musicals and 17 plays, he was one of the most prolific and popular 20th-century English writers.

Wolfe, James (1727–1759) soldier

The son of an Irish general, Wolfe joined the ARMY at 14 and served in European wars and in the Battle of CULLODEN. He fought at Louisburg in 1758 and was made the commander of the British force sent to Quebec in CANADA in 1759. He led his troops in a dramatic victory there and died in battle.

Wollstonecraft, Mary (1759–1797) author, feminist

Wollstonecraft began a school in LONDON and wrote Thoughts on the Education of Daughters

(1787). A governess in IRELAND, she wrote a novel (Mary, 1788), and with the coming of the French revolution, she wrote a reply to Edmund

BURKE, A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790) followed by A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

(1792). She traveled to France, wrote a commentary on the revolution, but had a personal crisis and attempted suicide. She was briefly married to William GODWIN and died after the birth of their daughter Mary, who would marry Percy Bysshe SHELLEY.

Wolseley, Garnet Joseph Wolseley, first viscount (1833–1913)

soldier

A noted Victorian soldier and ARMY reformer, Wolseley served in the CRIMEAN WAR, and fought

in BURMA, INDIA, and China. He became famous for battles in the ASHANTI War (1874) and in EGYPT (1882). His effort to save General GORDON at KHARTOUM (1885) was too late, but Wolseley went on to become commander in chief of the army and was able to implement important reforms he had long advocated (1895–99).

Wolsey, Thomas (1472–1530) cardinal, statesman

The son of a butcher in Ipswich, Wolsey was made a royal chaplain in 1507. He remained in royal service under HENRY VIII, and became a councillor in 1511. His diplomatic and administrative skills brought a rapid rise, and they helped him to accumulate offices and titles. He became LORD CHANCELLOR and cardinal of the church in 1515. In 1518 he was made legate a latere (special papal emissary, ranking above the

ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY), and he negotiated

the Treaty of London, a peace agreement among France, Spain, and ENGLAND. This gave way to alliances and wars in the next few years. But Wolsey’s greatest challenge was the commission to gain an annulment of Henry’s marriage to CATHERINE OF ARAGON. In 1527 he began this futile process, but his legal and administrative skill was offset by the pope’s virtual captivity at the hands of Catherine’s nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Thus stymied, and the king anxious to marry Anne BOLEYN, Wolsey fell from power. In 1530 he was arrested on a TREASON charge, and he died on the way to his trial in LONDON.

women’s movement

The status of women in British society was fundamentally altered in the 19th and 20th centuries, a process that in one view was sweeping in its range, but in another view agonizingly slow and erratic in its pace. The status issues were essentially matters of LAW; the idea of equality between men and women went to the deepest senses of social and physical identity. At

the beginning of the 19th century, a woman was the legal and social inferior of a man, a status affirmed in religion, political life, and employment. Except for a few aristocratic heroines (and an army of women laboring in mills, mines, and farms) there was no legitimate place for a woman outside of family and domestic work.

The first manifesto for women’s rights was Mary WOLLSTONECRAFT’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which extended the arguments of Thomas PAINE to British women. A woman was still the legal property of her husband, with no rights of her own, and the unmarried woman had few opportunites for superior education and employment. The key areas of legal change came in divorce, property, and electoral laws. A civil divorce court was established in 1857, and though women were allowed to sue, they had heavier burdens of proof. In 1878 women were able to obtain legal separation and child support, but those rights were greatly strengthened after WORLD WAR I, and the grounds for divorce were successively widened between 1923 and 1969. In matters of property, married women first gained recognition in 1870, when they were allowed to hold £200 of their own earnings. Their rights were greatly expanded in 1882, as the married woman could now exercise the same rights over property as her unmarried sister. However, her opportunities in work and business were still limited. With the 20th century, they too expanded. Women worked at many new jobs during and after the wars. But they were not paid at the same rate as men, and only in 1970 was there an Equal Pay Act, which came into force in 1975.

The question of women’s right to vote was perhaps the most dramatic dimension of the movement, if not the most significant. The suffragists and their volatile SUFFRAGETTE cousins forced the male politicians to recognize their rights, first in local government, then in school boards, and finally in national elections (1860–1918). In other areas, the barriers fell, slowly but surely: university admission, election to PARLIAMENT, admission to professions (law, medicine, clergy) were achieved in the half-century of 1870–1920.

See also ANDERSON, ELIZABETH GARRETT; BUT-

LER, JOSEPHINE; PANKHURST FAMILY.

Wood, Edward See HALIFAX, EDWARD

WOOD, EARL.

wool

The first major export and manufacturing industry in ENGLAND was wool. Sheep farming and wool production were important economic sectors from the 12th century. At first England exported raw wool to cloth manufacturers in the low countries (today’s Belgium and the Netherlands). The subsidy or duty charged on this trade and collected in the STAPLE towns was the core of royal finance in the 13th and 14th centuries. By the 15th century the production of woolen cloth in England became dominant. Manufacturing was conducted by merchant clothiers who collected the material at different stages from home-based spinners and weavers, often spread across rural areas to avoid the TAXATION and regulation of urban centers. As the cotton industry grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, wool manufacture was concentrated in Yorkshire. Mechanized processes were slow to develop, but as they did, regional centers of production in the West and in SCOTLAND declined. The industry suffered serious decline in the 1920s, revived in the 1930s, but was unable to compete with manmade fibres from the 1960s on.

Woolf, Virginia (1882–1941) novelist

The daughter of a literary family, Virginia Stephen and her siblings settled in LONDON, where they were among those who made up the BLOOMSBURY GROUP. In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf, and they founded the Hogarth Press. Her first novel, The Voyage Out, appeared in 1915. Her other works included Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and collections of essays. Her feminist classic A Room of One’s