John Wilkes (1725-1797), a British journalist and politician, was a vocal critic of the King and a supporter of American rights. Americans adopted slogans and symbols related to Wilkes, such as this mug decorated with his name, “Liberty,” and “45.” The “45” was a reference to Wilkes’s 45th edition of The North Briton newspaper in which he made what some considered a “seditious and libel[ous]” attack on King George III’s 1763 speech at the opening of Parliament.