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Charles Bradlaugh MP
Charles Bradlaugh
Member of Parliament
for Northampton
In office
1880 – 1891
Preceded by Charles George Merewether
Succeeded by Sir Moses Philip Manfield
Born 26 September 1833(1833-09-26)
Hoxton
Died 30 January 1891 (aged 57)
Nationality British
Religion None

Charles Bradlaugh (26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Northampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Northampton which existed until 1974 Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Atheism Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Atheism The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar He founded the National Secular Society in 1866. The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation which promotes Secularism, the separation of Church and State to make society fair for everyone [1]

Contents

Early life

Born into poverty in Hoxton (an area near central London), Bradlaugh was the son of a solicitor's clerk. Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts He left school at the age of eleven and then worked as an office errand-boy and later as a clerk to a coal merchant. After a brief spell as a Sunday school teacher, he became disturbed by discrepancies between the Thirty-nine Articles of the Anglican Church and the Bible. " Sunday school " is the generic name for many different types of Religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin When he expressed his concerns, the local vicar, John Graham Packer, accused him of atheism and suspended him from teaching. Atheism He was thrown out of the family home and was taken in by Elizabeth Sharples Carlile, the widow of Richard Carlile, who had been imprisoned for printing Thomas Paine's Age of Reason. Richard Carlile (9 December 1790 &ndash 10 February 1843 was an important agitator for the establishment of Universal suffrage and Freedom of the press in the Thomas Paine (January 29 1737 &ndash June 8 1809 was an English Pamphleteer, Revolutionary, radical, Inventor, and Intellectual Soon Bradlaugh was introduced to George Holyoake, who organized Bradlaugh's first public lecture as an atheist. George Jacob Holyoake ( 13 April 1817 - 22 January 1906) English secularist and co-operator, was born in At the age of 17, he published his first pamphlet, A Few Words on the Christian Creed. However, refusing financial support from fellow freethinkers, he enlisted as a soldier with the Seventh Dragoon Guards hoping to serve in India and make his fortune. Dragoon guards was in some armies, particularly the British Army, the designation used to refer to heavy Cavalry Regiments from the 18th century India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Instead he was stationed in Dublin (which was at that time part of the United Kingdom). Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located He resigned from the army in 1853. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

Activism and journalism

By this time a convinced freethinker, Bradlaugh returned to London in 1853, and became a pamphleteer and writer about "secularist" ideas under the pseudonym "Iconoclast". Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that Beliefs should be formed on the basis of Science and Logic and should not be influenced A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) He gradually attained prominence in a number of liberal or radical political groups or societies, including the Reform League, Land Law Reformers, and Secularists. He was President of the London Secular Society from 1858. Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common In 1860 he became editor of the secularist newspaper, the National Reformer, and in 1866 co-founded the National Secular Society, in which Annie Besant became his close associate. Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation which promotes Secularism, the separation of Church and State to make society fair for everyone Annie Wood Besant (ˈbɛsənt Clapham London October 1 1847 &ndash September 20 1933 in Adyar, India) was a prominent Theosophist, In 1868, the Reformer was prosecuted by the British Government for blasphemy and sedition. Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Blasphemy is the disrespectful use of the name of one or more gods. This is about the law term For other uses see Sedition (disambiguation Sedition is a term of Law which refers to covert conduct Bradlaugh was eventually acquitted on all charges, but fierce controversy continued both in the courts and in the press. A decade later (1876), Bradlaugh and Besant decided to republish the American Charles Knowlton's pamphlet advocating birth control, The Fruits of Philosophy, or the Private Companion of Young Married People, whose previous British publisher had already been successfully prosecuted for obscenity. Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Charles Knowlton ( May 10 1800 &ndash February 20 1850) was an American Physician and writer Obscenity (in Latin obscenus, meaning "foul repulsive detestable" is a term that is most often used in a legal context to The two activists were both tried in 1877, and Charles Darwin refused to give evidence in their defence. Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life They were sentenced to heavy fines and six months' imprisonment, but their conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal on a legal technicality.

Politics

Bradlaugh was an advocate of trade unionism, republicanism, and women's suffrage, but he opposed socialism. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Republicanism, in the United Kingdom, is the movement which seeks to remove the British monarchy and replace it with a Republic that has a non- Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution His anti-socialism was divisive, and many secularists who became socialists left the secularist movement because of its identification with Bradlaugh's liberal individualism. He was a supporter of Irish Home Rule, and backed France during the Franco-Prussian War. Home rule refers to a demand that constituent parts of a state be given greater self-government within the greater administrative purview of the central government This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 He took a strong interest in India. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British

Parliament

Caricature from Punch, 1881 -- "Mr. Bradlaugh, M.P., The Northampton Cherub"
Caricature from Punch, 1881 -- "Mr. Bradlaugh, M. P. , The Northampton Cherub"

In 1880 Bradlaugh was elected Member of Parliament for Northampton, and claimed the right to affirm (instead of taking the religious Oath of Allegiance), but this was denied, and he subsequently offered to take the oath "as a matter of form". Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Northampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Northampton which existed until 1974 The Oath of Allegiance set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868 is required to be taken by various office-holders in the following form "I NAME do swear This offer, too, was rejected by the House. Because a Member must take the oath before being allowed to take their seat, he effectively forfeited his seat in Parliament. He attempted to take his seat regardless, was arrested and briefly imprisoned in the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament. The Clock Tower is the world's largest four-faced chiming Clock. His seat fell vacant and a by-election was declared. Bradlaugh was re-elected by Northampton four times in succession as the dispute continued. Supporting Bradlaugh were William Gladstone, George Bernard Shaw, and John Stuart Mill, as well as hundreds of thousands of people who signed a public petition. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential Opposing his right to sit were the Conservative Party, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other leading figures in the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican

On at least one occasion, Bradlaugh was escorted from the House by police officers. In 1883 he took his seat and voted three times before being fined £1,500 for voting illegally. Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A bill allowing him to affirm was defeated in Parliament.

In 1886 Bradlaugh was finally allowed to take the oath, and did so at the risk of prosecution under the Parliamentary Oaths Act. Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Two years later, in 1888, he secured passage of a new Oaths Act, which enshrined into law the right of affirmation for members of both Houses, as well as extending and clarifying the law as it related to witnesses in civil and criminal trials (the Evidence Amendment Acts of 1869 and 1870 had proved unsatisfactory, though they had given relief to many who would otherwise have been disadvantaged). Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Death

Bradlaugh's statue, Abington Square, Northampton UK, on his birthday 2004
Bradlaugh's statue, Abington Square, Northampton UK, on his birthday 2004

Bradlaugh's funeral was attended by 3,000 mourners, including Mohandas Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January He is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. Brookwood Cemetery is a burial ground in Brookwood Surrey, England. [2] A statue to Bradlaugh is located on a traffic island at Abington Square, Northampton. This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market Remembered annually on his birthday, for the rest of the year the statue points west towards the centre of Northampton, the accusing finger periodically missing. Various local landmarks are named after Bradlaugh, including Bradlaugh Fields [3] nature reserves, The Charles Bradlaugh pub, and Charles Bradlaugh Hall at the University of Northampton. The University of Northampton is a University in Northampton, Northamptonshire, UK.

Bibliography

Citations

  1. ^ Charles Bradlaugh (1833 - 1891): Founder. National Secular Society. Retrieved on 2008-03-22. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor.
  2. ^ Charles Bradlaugh. Necropolis Notables. The Brookwood Cemetery Society. Retrieved on 2007-02-23. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable
  3. ^ Template:Http://www. bradlaughfields. org. uk/

References

External links

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