Philip Francis and press freedom in Britain at the turn of the 1760s and 1770s: on the way to Junius

The article is devoted to the intellectual growth of the outstanding English politician of the last third of the 18th century, Philip Francis (1740-1818), the author of anonymous «Junius Letters», a classic of political journalism. The accusatory «Letters» were directed against the first persons of the state and defended the rights and freedoms of the citizens of the English crown. The author focuses on the reconstruction of social status, social circle and the political credo of Francis, as well as on analysis of the motivations for the decisive attack of the twenty-nine-year-old clerk of the Office of the War against the Prime Minister and King of England George III. The article shows that Francis received a brilliant education at one of the most prestigious schools of his time, the school at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. A deep influence on the formation of a young man was made by his father, Philip Francis the Elder, whose patron was Henry Fox, a prominent politician in the mid-18th century. Acquaintance with the first persons of the state from a young age, admiration of William Pitt the Elder, as well as an unsuccessful desire to get a «worthy appointment» were the main motives that made Junius raise his voice at the turn of the 1760s and 1770s.