Samuel Whitbread

British politician, the son of the founder of the famous brewing firm Samuel Whitbread (1720–96). From Eton he passed to Oxford, and in 1790 entered parliament. The intimate friend of Fox, under Pitt he was Leader of the Opposition, and in 1805 headed the attack on Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1742–1811) over charges of corruption.

Samuel Whitbread II by John Opie

Samuel Whitbread (1758 – June 6, 1815) was an English politician.

Born in Cardington, Bedfordshire, Whitbread was the son of the brewer Samuel Whitbread. Whitbread was a reformer — a champion of religious and civil rights, for the abolition of slavery, and a proponent of a national education system.

He was a close friend and colleague of John Howard and of Charles James Fox. After Fox's death, Whitbread took over the leadership of the Whigs, and in 1805 led the campaign to have Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, removed from office.

Whitbread admired Napoleon and his reforms in France and Europe. Whitbread began to suffer from depression, and on the morning of 6 June 1815, he committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor.

Preceded by: Samuel Whitbread William MacDowall Colhoun

Member for Bedford with William MacDowall Colhoun 1790–1802, William Lee-Antoine 1802–1812, Lord George Russell 1812–1815 1790–1815

Succeeded by: Lord George Russell Hon. Samuel Whitbread, 1764-1815: A study in opposition, MacMillan, 1967.