Sacheverell, Henry [key], 1674?–1724, English clergyman, the center of a religio-political incident in the reign of Queen Anne. In two sermons (1709) Dr. Sacheverell attacked the Whig government, lashing out especially against its toleration of religious dissenters. He was charged with seditious libel, tried, convicted, and sentenced (1710) to a three-year suspension from preaching. The trial created a furor, and the light sentence made Sacheverell the victor in the eyes of the public. The Whigs were severely humiliated by the trial.
See study by G. Holmes (1973).
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