The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth
(dlk) (KEY) , 18431911, British statesman. A radical leader in the Liberal party, he helped pass the parliamentary Reform Acts of 188485 as well as laws giving the municipal franchise to women, legalizing labor unions, and limiting working hours. Dilkes political career was effectively ended in 1885, when he was named as correspondent in a notorious divorce case.