Expulsion of John Wilkes from Parliament
Betsy Ross and the first American flag.
Thursday, 19th January 1764
On 19 January 1764, John Wilkes, MP for Middlesex, was expelled from Parliament for obscene libel and seditious libel after he published a pornographic poem entitled "An Essay on Woman" as a parody of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man". Wilkes was known for his radical politics and supported the rebels in the American War of Independence.
