Henry Hyde Champion (22 January 1859 – 30 April 1928) was a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, regarded as one of the leading spirits behind the formation of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. Up to 1893, he lived and worked in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, moving after that date to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Biography

Early life

Champion was born in

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 22 January 1859, the son of Major-General James Hyde Champion, and his wife Henrietta Susan, ''née'' Urquhart, of aristocratic Scottish descent. Henry was sent to England at four years of age to attend a day school and from 13 was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, later he attended the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He entered the army and fought with the artillery in the Afghan War of 1879. There he caught

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and was sent back to England. A radical friend showed Champion the London

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

slums; his friend also accompanied Champion to the

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 territorie ...

where Champion was influenced by the writings of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

Socialist in England

Champion resigned his army commission 17 September 1882 in disgust over conduct of the Egyptian War of that year and joined the

socialist movement The history of socialism has its origins in the 1789 French Revolution and the changes which it brought, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. ''The Communist Manifesto'' was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1847-4 ...

. He became assistant secretary of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF) and wrote for the socialist paper, ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. In 1886 with

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

Henry Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing p ...

and Jack Williams he was indicted for seditious conspiracy in connexion with the

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

riots, after conducting his own defence he was acquitted. Champion bought a half-share in a printing plant and published a paper called ''To-Day'', and in 1885-86

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's early novel

Cashel Byron's Profession ''Cashel Byron's Profession'' is George Bernard Shaw's fourth novel. The novel was written in 1882 and after rejection by several publishers it was published in serialized form in a socialist magazine. The novel was later published as a book in ...

appeared in it as a serial. It was published separately by Champion in 1886. This was the first of Shaw's works published in book form. Champion joined the

Labour Electoral Association {{Short description, Political motive of the Labour Electoral Association The Labour Electoral Association was a political organisation in the United Kingdom which aimed to get working men elected to Parliament. Foundation The issue of political re ...

and founded a newspaper called '' Labour Elector'' in 1888. In 1889 Champion was one of the leaders of the dock labourers' strike, to the funds of which a large sum was sent from

. Soon afterwards he had a disagreement with some of his fellow socialists, broke away, and for a time was assistant-editor of the ''Nineteenth Century''. He stood as an independent candidate for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, but, though he polled fairly well, was defeated and soon afterwards went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to find relief from illness, arriving on 12 August 1890. Henry Hyde Champion is regarded by some as the father of the

. Historian

Joseph Clayton Joseph Clayton (1867–1943) was an English freelance journalist and biographer. A writer of numerous books, he covered areas of trade union and socialist history, but also religious figures and history. Life Joseph Clayton was born in London 2 ...

wrote in 1926:

"When the first annual conference took place at
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
in January 1893 and was seen to thrive, Champion could write in ''The Labour Elector:'' 'We have created the ILP and set it on its legs.'

"The boast has truth in it. For if any one man could say 'I created the ILP,' that man was Henry Hyde Champion. Others, and notably
James Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...
, are extolled as founders of the ILP..... Keir Hardie,
Joseph Burgess Joseph Burgess (1853–1934) was a British journalist, writer and Labour politician. He was born on 3 July 1853 in Failsworth, Lancashire, the third of six children of handloom weavers, and was educated at a print works school in Failsworth. H ...
,
Robert Blatchford Robert Peel Glanville Blatchford (17 March 1851 – 17 December 1943) was an English socialist campaigner, journalist, and author in the United Kingdom. He was also noted as a prominent atheist, nationalist and opponent of eugenics. In the early ...
– were but midwives. The real father was H.H. Champion. And if Champion has been pushed out of the scene, it is partly because he left England for Australia; and partly because, indifferent to fame, he was ambitious rather to get things done than to have the credit for the accomplished fact.

"But Champion is the man whom the student of history, writing without bias and without axe to grind on behalf of reputation for the living or the dead, without fear of foe or favour for friend, unswayed by personal predilection for the character of this man or the policy of that, will name as the real creator of the ILP. It was Champion who discerned that the Socialist League with its non-parliamentary policy and Anarchist sympathies would never command the support of the British people, always strongly attached to parliamentary institutions; that the SDF in its devotion to the pure gospel of Marx made no appeal to Trade Unionists anxious for small but pressing changes that would better their condition; that Labour Electoral Associations in the control of Liberal Trade Unionists would accomplish nothing that would diminish the power of the Capitalist."

Australia

Henry Hyde Champion emigrated to Australia in 1893 at the age of 34.Kapp, ''Eleanor Marx: Volume 2,'' pg. 35. In 1895 Champion established a weekly paper the ''Champion'' which lasted until 1897, and he also published in Melbourne in 1895 ''The Root of the Matter'', a series of dialogues on social questions, which gave moderate statement of the socialist position, but attracted little attention. Champion could not, however, find his place in politics in Australia. He could not see eye to eye with the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

, and a statement, possibly made in haste, that this party consisted of lions led by asses did not help the position. He was a candidate for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

for the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

supported now by many at the Trades Hall; the campaign revolved round his personal reputation and he had the satisfaction of prosecuting

Max Hirsch Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse horse trainer, trainer. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman ...

and extracting an apology and costs, however he lost the election. Champion then settled down as a leader writer for

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

. His wife successfully conducted the Book Lovers' Library and Bookshop, and in connection with this Champion published a monthly literary paper, the ''Book Lover'', which ran 1899–1921. He also wrote occasionally for the ''Socialist'' and The Bulletin. He had a long period of ill-health before his death at Melbourne on 30 April 1928. He married Elsie Belle, sister of

Vida Goldstein Vida Jane Mary Goldstein (pron. ) (13 April 186915 August 1949) was an Australian suffragist and social reformer. She was one of four female candidates at the 1903 federal election, the first at which women were eligible to stand. Goldstein wa ...

and daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Goldstein and

Isabella Goldstein Isabella Goldstein (born Isabella Hawkins) (31 December 1849 – 12 January 1916)Billiongraves source gives 3 March 1849 and Henderson gives 31 December 1849 as the birthdate. Two obituaries give 12 January 1916 as the death date as does the Deat ...

, who survived him. He had no children. Champion interested himself in social movements, was a foundation member of the Anti-

Sweating Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distr ...

League, and he organized the first appeal which resulted in the foundation of the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and Children. He also founded the Australasian authors' agency and published a few books with literary merit.

Biography

Early life

Socialist in England

Australia

Footnotes

Further reading