Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth

Related Category: British and Irish History: Biographies

(dĭlk), 1843–1911, British statesman. A radical leader in the Liberal party, he helped pass the parliamentary Reform Acts of 1884–85 as well as laws giving the municipal franchise to women, legalizing labor unions, and limiting working hours. Dilke's political career was effectively ended in 1885, when he was named as correspondent in a notorious divorce case.