Edmund Burke

Burke, Edmund (1729–97), Irish-born British statesman, political philosopher, and orator. He entered parliament in 1765, and advocated more just policies toward the American colonies, opposing the Stamp Act and (in 1775) arguing for conciliation. Concerned for justice in India, he promoted the impeachment of Warren Hastings (1786–87). His famous Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) presented his rational case against violent change.