Junius
Junius
JUNIUS. "Junius" was the pen name of an unknown British writer who launched political attacks on the duke of Grafton, the duke of Bedford, and George III and defended the popular cause of John Wilkes. His most notable series appeared in the London Public Advertiser between January 1769 and January 1772. The writer has never been identified, but he was clearly a Whig of the Chatham-Grenville faction with access to secret government matters. There is evidence, from handwriting and political outlook, that Junius was Sir Philip Francis (1740–1818), first clerk in the War Office when the series started.
SEE ALSO Chatham, William Pitt, First Earl of; Grenville, George; Wilkes, John.
revised by Harold E. Selesky
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