William Belsham

William Belsham (1752 – 17 November 1827) was an English political writer and historian, noted as a supporter of the Whig Party and its principles. He justified the American Revolution in excusing Americans in their resistance to the demands of England, and he was an advocate of progressive political liberty.

Life

The brother of the Unitarian preacher Thomas Belsham, and brother-in-law of the Unitarian minister Timothy Kenrick, he was born at Bedford, the son of James Belsham (died 1770), a nonconformist minister. He died near Hammersmith on 17 November 1827.

Work Belsham wrote history as a radical Whig. He belonged to the anti-war group of historians, with Charles James Fox and Anthony Robinson. He began his career as an author by publishing Essays, Philosophical, Historical, and Literary, two vols. 1789–91.

In 1792 he published Examination of an Appeal from the Old to the New Whigs, and in 1793 Remarks on the Nature and Necessity of Political Reform. He also wrote on the Test Act, the French Revolution, the Treaty of Amiens, and the poor laws.

An eight-volume set Memoirs of the Reign of George III from his Accession, to the Peace of Amiens was published in 1813.