Author: EditorMC

I am a former journalist by trade, turned labour and family historian with a special interest in Chartism. I launched the Chartist Ancestors website since 2003, and am currently a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History executive committee, managing its website and social media in my free time.
Commentary

Class Encounters: Joseph Ettor, IWW organiser

In the ninth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Mick Moreton encounters the Wobblies trade union organiser Joseph Ettor Although not a figure from British labour history, my wish would be to meet Joseph Ettor (1885-1948), an American organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) during the Lawrence ‘Bread and Roses’ strike of 1912. I would ask him about … Continue reading Class Encounters: Joseph Ettor, IWW organiser

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Commentary

Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

In the eighth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Keith Flett encounters the Black London Chartist leader William Cuffay. William Cuffay (1788-1870) was born in Medway to a local woman and a descendant of slaves who had come to the area as a sailor. He worked as a tailor in London and became active in the Chartist movement to the extent … Continue reading Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

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Commentary

Class Encounters: Antoinette Cazal, anarchist

In the seventh of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Constance Bantman encounters the French anarchist Antoinette Cazal. Was Antoinette ‘Trognette’ Cazal (1862-1902) even a figure of the labour movement? Her entry in the biographic dictionary of the French labour movement, Le Maitron, describes her as ‘a seamstress; a brewery girl; an anarchist; a defendant in the [1894 anti-anarchist] Trial of the … Continue reading Class Encounters: Antoinette Cazal, anarchist

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Commentary

Class Encounters: Feargus O’Connor, Chartist leader

In the sixth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Vic Clarke encounters the Chartist leader, MP and newspaper proprietor Feargus O’Connor. Any collective effort is bound to include a clash of personalities, and self-proclaimed ‘people’s friend’ Feargus O’Connor certainly came to clashes in the Chartist movement. A surprisingly understudied figure, O’Connor’s charismatic and bombastic editorials, or ‘letters’ to his readers in … Continue reading Class Encounters: Feargus O’Connor, Chartist leader

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Commentary

Class Encounters: John Clare, poet

In the fifth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Mike Mecham encounters the ‘peasant poet’ John Clare. For Malcolm Chase 1820 was a pivotal political year for Britain and Ireland. It also saw the publication of the first, and most successful, collection of poems by John Clare (1793-1864), selling more copies than his stable-mate John Keats. The ‘Peasant Poet’ was then … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Clare, poet

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Commentary

Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

In the fourth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Jennifer Reid encounters the collector of Lancashire dialect poets, John Harland John Harland 1806–1868 was a renowned journalist and ballad collector. Although originally from Kingston-upon-Hull, as chief reporter for the Manchester Guardian he was aware of all the Lancashire dialect poets and worked hard to immerse himself in people’s lives in Manchester. … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

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Commentary

Class Encounters: George Julian Harney, Chartist journalist

In the third of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Mark Crail encounters George Julian Harney, editor of the Northern Star and Red Republican. On a bitterly cold Christmas Day 1840, George Julian Harney walked eighteen miles across North-East Scotland from Elgin to Keith in the hope of reviving the town’s Chartist Association. But when he got there, no lecture room could … Continue reading Class Encounters: George Julian Harney, Chartist journalist

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Commentary

Class Encounters: Emma Martin, Owenite lecturer

In the second of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Janette Martin encounters her namesake, the Owenite lecturer Emma Martin I would most like to meet Emma Martin (1812-1851), the feisty woman who escaped an unhappy marriage to earn a living as an itinerant Owenite lecturer while bringing up her three young daughters.  Emma was born in Bristol to a lower middle-class … Continue reading Class Encounters: Emma Martin, Owenite lecturer

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Commentary

Class Encounters: John Auty, miners’ trade union activist

If you could meet one person from labour history, who would it be? We asked labour historians to tell us who they would invite for a cup of tea, a pint at the pub or even Christmas Dinner. In the first of a new series, Joe Stanley encounters miners’ union activist John Auty I first encountered John Auty when he was named ‘Paymaster General’ of … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Auty, miners’ trade union activist

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Labour History Review

Labour History Review Volume 89 (2024), issue 3

Labour History Review Volume 89 (2024), Issue 3 has now been published. The journal appears both in hard copy and online formats.  In this issue… Édouard Dolléans has been described as the first modern historian of Chartism. But his work, first published in France in 1912-13, is little known among students of the Chartist movement and has never been translated into English. While situating Dolléans … Continue reading Labour History Review Volume 89 (2024), issue 3

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