An image of Daniel O'Connell (1775–1847), captioned "The Champion of Liberty". O'Connell was an Irish political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century. He campaigned for Catholic Emancipation—the right for Roman Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, denied for over 100 years—and repeal of the Act of Union which combined Ireland and Great Britain. King George III had disallowed Catholics from sitting in Parliament, saying that it would breach his coronation oath to act as protector of Protestantism. Through O'Connell's efforts, Catholic Emancipation was finally passed by Parliament on 24 March 1829.Image: Alfred Hoffy; Restoration: Lise Broer
 | This picture of the day has been featured on Portal:Biography. |