William Jackson (journalist)
He served first as a preacher and private chaplain of the Church of England before moving into journalism, writing for several newspapers in London across both sides of the political aisle.
After being chosen for a mission under the Committee of Public Safety to visit England and Ireland, he was arrested in Dublin following meetings with the United Irish leaders Theobald Wolfe Tone and Archibald Hamilton Rowan.
It was in his capacity as the editor of The Public Ledger that he was introduced to Elizabeth Chudleigh (the self-styled Duchess of Kingston, who was facing trial for bigamy) by one of her lawyers, John Cockayne.
Embroiled in scandal over her trial for bigamy, Chudleigh hired Jackson to provide sympathetic press coverage as her private secretary.
To make the association perfectly clear, the actor playing Viper wore a copy of Jackson's well-known silk coat embroidered with frogs.
[5] In the end, Foote was acquitted of the charges of sodomy in the Court of Kings Bench, at which point he commenced proceedings for a libel prosecution against The Public Ledger.
He resumed his political activities by publishing The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America in 1783, with a dedication to the opposition leader, the Duke of Portland.
He was in attendance at the famous meeting at White's Hotel in November 1792, a gathering that included Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Thomas Paine.
Swept up in the general arrest of British subjects in 1793, Jackson was released from prison on the strength of his radical commitments, including the publication of the anti-English pamphlet.
[11] Nicholas Madgett, an Irishman who worked in the Marine Ministry, recruited Jackson to go to England and Ireland to assess the public's inclination towards armed revolution.
Jackson arrived in London in early 1794 and became reacquainted with John Cockayne, the lawyer who had introduced him to Elizabeth Chudleigh two decades earlier.
In Ireland, they met with several radical United Irish leaders, including Theobald Wolfe Tone, James Reynolds and Archibald Hamilton Rowan.
He reportedly vomited out of the carriage window on his ride from prison to the courtroom, and when he removed his hat, one observer noted that steam rose from his head.
As his lawyers made drawn-out speeches, hoping to avoid judgment on the technicality of an improperly filed indictment, Jackson's condition steadily worsened.
No such clemency was shown to Lord Edward Fitzgerald in 1798 who died of his wounds before trial but was found posthumously guilty of high treason.
