Edmund Burke (1) [1729–1797]

Edmund Burke was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a prosperous Protestant lawyer who raised his son in that faith. Burke graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1848. He went to London to study law at the Middle Temple, but gave it up to become a writer and public figure. He served as a Member of the British Parliament for nearly 30 years. He became one of the foremost political thinkers and statesmen of the 18th century, and was widely admired for his intellect, his vast knowledge of political affairs, his powers of persuasion, and his vivid writing. He's mainly remembered today for his support of the American War of Independence and his later opposition to the French Revolution. Among his many written works, the most famous remains Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790).