Secretary of the London Trades Council and first President of the International's General Council
Born at Roborough in Devon in 1813, the son of a Cornish miner, he was apprenticed as a shoemaker at about ten. In London he joined the shoemakers' union, came to notice coordinating aid for the builders' strike of 1859 and became Secretary of the London Trades Council in 1862. He helped turn the labour paper The Bee-Hive towards the Union side in the American Civil War, and in 1863 drafted the Address of English to French Workmen calling for international cooperation. A prominent speaker at the St Martin's Hall meeting of 1864, he joined the General Council as its first President and remained on it until his resignation in 1872. A leader of the Reform League, he stood several times for Parliament as a Liberal without being elected. He died in 1877.
Activities and affiliations
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1859–1873
Trade unionsMain
Social movements and organizing -
1864–1872
International Workingmen's Association (First International)
Social movements and organizing -
1869–1870
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1862Secretary of the London Trades Council
- 1864–1872Member of the International's General Council (first President)
- 1872–1873Secretary of the TUC Parliamentary Committee