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Charles Watts (secularist)
Charles Watts (27 February 1836 – 16 February 1906) was an English writer, lecturer and publisher, who was prominent in the secularist and freethought movements in both Britain and Canada. Life and career He was born in Bristol into a family of Methodists, and showed precocious talents, giving his first lecture at the age of 14. At the age of 16 he moved to London, and worked with his elder brother John Watts (1834-1866) in a printing office. Through this work the two brothers came into contact with freethinkers including Charles Southwell and Charles Bradlaugh. John Watts became an active proselytiser for secularism, and in 1863 was appointed editor of the ''National Reformer'', a radical periodical founded by Bradlaugh, with Charles as assistant editor. In 1864 the brothers formed a publishing business, Watts & Co. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in South West England. The wider Bristol Built-up Area is the eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Around the beginning of the 11th century, the settlement was known as (Old English: 'the place at the bridge'). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497, John Cabot, a Venetia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fruits Of Philosophy
Charles Knowlton (May 10, 1800 – February 20, 1850) was an American physician and writer. He was an atheist. Education Knowlton was born May 10, 1800 in Templeton, Massachusetts. His parents were Stephen and Comfort (White) Knowlton; his grandfather Ezekiel Knowlton was a captain in the revolution and a long-time state legislator. Knowlton attended local schools, then New Salem Academy. At age 18, he taught school briefly in Alstead, New Hampshire. As a young man, Knowlton was extremely concerned about his health. This led him to spend time with Richard Stuart, a “jack of all trades” in Winchendon who was experimenting with electricity. Knowlton married Stuart's daughter, Tabitha, and his condition was instantly cured. Knowlton studied medicine with several area doctors, and attended two terms of 14-week “medical lectures” at Dartmouth. He supplemented his education by digging up and dissecting corpses. Knowlton was awarded his M.D. in 1824, moved to Hawley, Massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Humanist
''New Humanist'' is a quarterly magazine, published by the Rationalist Association in the UK, that focuses on culture, news, philosophy, and science from a sceptical perspective. History The ''New Humanist'' has been in print for more than 131 years; starting out life as ''Watts's Literary Guide'', founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885. It later became ''The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review'' (1894–1954), ''Humanist'' (1956–1971) and the ''New Humanist'' in 1972. Notable columnists have included Laurie Taylor, Simon Hoggart and Sally Feldman. In 2003 Hazhir Teimourian, a reviewer for the magazine, quit over a controversial cartoon depicting Christ slumped in the arms of the Virgin Mary. In 2005 Caspar Melville took over as managing editor of the magazine and CEO of the Rationalist Association. Daniel Trilling assumed the position of Editor in 2013. Samira Shackle became Editor in Spring 2020. References External links The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secular Thought
''Secular Thought'' (1887–1911) was a Canadian periodical, published in Toronto, dedicated to promoting the principles of freethought and secularism. Founded and edited during its first several years by English freethinker Charles Watts, the editorship was assumed by Toronto printer and publisher James Spencer Ellis in 1891 when Watts returned to England. During that period, ''Secular Thought'' was the principal organ of the freethought movement in Canada, publishing large amounts of material from England and the United States in addition to commenting on Canadian affairs.Ramsay Cook George Ramsay Cook (28 November 1931 – 14 July 2016) was a Canadian historian and general editor of the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''. He was professor of history at the University of Toronto, 1958–1968; York University, 1969–1 ..., ''The Regenerators: Social Criticism in Late Victorian English Canada'' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985), pp. 46–64. References {{Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secular Review
''Secular Review'' (1876–1907) was a freethought/secularist weekly publication in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain that appeared under a variety of names. It represented a "relatively moderate style of Secularism," more open to old Owenite and new socialist influences in contrast to the individualism and social conservatism of Charles Bradlaugh and his ''National Reformer''.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, eds., ''Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland'' (Academia Press, 2009), p. 566. It was edited during the period 1882–1906 by William Stewart Ross (1844–1906), who signed himself "Saladin." History The journal was founded in August 1876 by George Jacob Holyoake, after he and George William Foote experienced difficulties with their collaborative editorship of the ''Secularist: A Liberal Weekly Review'' (1876–1877). In February 1877, Charles Watts assumed the editorship. A new series was started in June 1877, merging it wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Secular Union
The British Secular Union was a secularist organisation, founded in August 1877, primarily as a response to what its founders regarded as the "dictatorial" powers of Charles Bradlaugh as President of the National Secular Society. The founding members were Kate Watts, Harriet Law, George William Foote and Josiah Grimson; George Holyoake had accepted the nomination of Vice President of the National Secular Society so only gave support for the formation.Edward Royle, ''Radicals, Secularists, and Republicans: Popular Freethought in Britain, 1866-1915'', Manchester University Press, 1980, p.18. The group adopted the '' Secular Review'' as their official paper. The British Secular Union had broadly the same goals as the National Secular Society but distanced themselves from Bradlaugh's style, especially when it came to the ''Knowlton Pamphlet'', which advocated birth control.Edward Royle, ''Radicals, Secularists, and Republicans: Popular Freethought in Britain, 1866-1915'', Manchester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George William Foote
George William Foote (11 January 1850 – 17 October 1915) was an English secularist, freethinker, republican, writer and journal editor. Early life George William Foote was born in Plymouth, the son of William Thomas Foot (a customs officer) and Ann Winzar. Career In his ''Reminiscences of Charles Bradlaugh'' he recalls coming to London in January 1868 with "plenty of health and very little religion". He was taken to Cleveland Hall by a friend, and "heard Mrs. arrietLaw knock the Bible about delightfully. She was not what would be called a woman of culture, but she had what some devotees of 'culchaw' do not posses—a great deal of natural ability..." A few weeks later Foote heard Charles Bradlaugh speaking at the hall. He became involved with the secularism, freethought and republicanism, joining the Young Men's Secular Association, the National Secular Society, and contributing to Bradlaugh's ''National Reformer''. In 1877 Foote joined the anti-Bradlaughites in the brea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Holyoake
George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist, co-operator and newspaper editor. He coined the terms secularism in 1851 and "jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, the ''Reasoner'', from 1846 to June 1861, and a co-operative one, ''The English Leader'', in 1864–1867. Early life George Jacob Holyoake was born in Birmingham, where his father worked as a whitesmith and his mother as a button maker. He attended a dame school and a Wesleyan Sunday School, began working half-days at the same foundry as his father at the age of eight, and learnt his trade. At 18 he began attending lectures at the Birmingham Mechanics' Institute, where he encountered the socialist writings of Robert Owen and later became an assistant lecturer. He married Eleanor Williams in 1839 and decided to become a full-time teacher, but was rejected for his socialist views. Unable to teach full-time, Holyoake took a job as an Owenite social missionary. His first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annie Besant
Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human freedom, she was an ardent supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule. She was also a prolific author with over three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. As an educationist, her contributions included being one of the founders of the Banaras Hindu University. For fifteen years, Besant was a public proponent in England of atheism and scientific materialism. Besant's goal was to provide employment, better living conditions, and proper education for the poor. Besant then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society (NSS), as well as a writer, and a close friend of Charles Bradlaugh. In 1877 they were prosecuted for publishing a book by birth control campaigner Charles Knowlton. The scandal made them famous, and Bradla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obscene Publications Act 1857
The Obscene Publications Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c.83), also known as Lord Campbell's Act or Campbell's Act, was a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland dealing with obscenity. For the first time, it made the sale of obscene material a statutory offence, giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material. The Act superseded a 1787 Royal Proclamation by George III titled ''Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice''. The proclamation commanded the prosecution of those guilty of "excessive drinking, blasphemy, profane swearing and cursing, lewdness, profanation of the Lord's Day, and other dissolute, immoral, or disorderly practices". Prior to this Act, the "exposure for sale" of "obscene books and prints" had been made illegal by the Vagrancy Act 1824. but the publication of obscene material was a common law misdemeanour The effective prosecution of authors and publishers was difficult even in cases where the material was clearly inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
