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John Cartwright (17 September 1740 – 23 September 1824) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
officer,
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The tradit ...
militia major and prominent campaigner for parliamentary reform. He subsequently became known as the Father of Reform. His younger brother
Edmund Cartwright Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politi ...
became famous as the inventor of the
power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...
.


Early life

He was born at Marnham in
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The tradit ...
on 17 September 1740 to Anne and William Cartwright of Marnham Hall. He was the elder brother of
Edmund Cartwright Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politi ...
, inventor of the
power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...
and the younger brother of George Cartwright, trader and explorer of
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
. He was educated at
Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yo ...
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary sch ...
and Heath Academy in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, and at the age of eighteen entered the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.


Career

He was present, in his first year of service, at the capture of Cherbourg, and served in the following year in the
Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...
between Sir Edward Hawke and Admiral Hubert de Brienne. Engaged afterwards under Sir
Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 during the Seven Y ...
and Admiral
John Byron Vice Admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at s ...
on the Newfoundland Station, he was appointed to act as chief magistrate of the settlement. He served in the post for five years (1765–1770). From 1763 to 14 May 1766, Cartwright was commander of HM Cutter ''Sherborne''. His brother George, when at loose ends, went with him on a cruise out of
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...
to chase smugglers in ''Sherborne''. Ill-health necessitated Cartwright's retirement from active service for a time in 1771. When the disputes with the American colonies began, he believed that the colonists had right on their side, warmly supported their cause and, at the outbreak of the ensuing
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, refused an appointment as first lieutenant to the
Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...
. Thus he gave up a path to certain promotion, since he did not wish to fight against the cause which he felt to be just. In 1774 he published his first plea on behalf of the colonists, entitled "American Independence the Glory and Interest of Great Britain."


Nottinghamshire Militia and Reform

In 1765, when the
Nottinghamshire Militia Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The tradition ...
was first raised, he was appointed major, and in this capacity he served for seventeen years. He was at last illegally superseded. In 1776 appeared his first work on reform in parliament, which, with the exception of Earl Stanhope's pamphlets (1774), appears to have been the earliest publication on the subject. It was entitled, ''Take your Choice'',. a second edition appearing under the new title of ''The Legislative Rights of the Commonalty Vindicated'' (1777) and advocated annual parliaments, the secret ballot and manhood
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
. The task of his life was thenceforth chiefly the attainment of
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
and annual parliaments. In 1798, he conceived the project of a political association, which took shape in 1780 as the
Society for Constitutional Information The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote parliamentary reform. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of whom were drawn from the rational dissenting ...
, including among its members some of the most distinguished men of the day. From this society sprang the more famous
London Corresponding Society The London Corresponding Society (LCS) was a federation of local reading and debating clubs that in the decade following the French Revolution agitated for the democratic reform of the British Parliament. In contrast to other reform associa ...
. Major Cartwright worked unweariedly for the promotion of reform. He was one of the witnesses on the trial of his friends,
John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an English clergyman, politician, and philologist. Associated with radical proponents of parl ...
,
John Thelwall John Thelwall (27 July 1764 – 17 February 1834) was a radical British orator, writer, political reformer, journalist, poet, elocutionist and speech therapist.
and
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
, in 1794. He left his large estate in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
in 1803 or 1805 to move to Enfield,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouri ...
, where he made friends with other leading
Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
s including Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet,
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
and
Francis Place Francis Place (3 November 1771 in London – 1 January 1854 in London) was an English social reformer. Early life He was an illegitimate son of Simon Place and Mary Gray. His father was originally a journeyman baker. He then became a Marshalse ...
. In 1812, he initiated the Hampden Clubs, named after
John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of th ...
, an
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
Parliamentary leader, aiming to bring together middle class moderates and lower class radicals in the reform cause. To promote the idea, he toured northwest England later in 1812, in 1813 (getting arrested in
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
) and in 1815. He recruited John Knight who founded the first Hampden Club in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. In 1818, Knight, John Saxton and James Wroe formed the reformist and popularist newspaper the ''
Manchester Observer The ''Manchester Observer'' was a short-lived non-conformist Liberal newspaper based in Manchester, England. Its radical agenda led to an invitation to Henry "Orator" Hunt to speak at a public meeting in Manchester, which subsequently led to t ...
''. In 1819, the same team formed the Patriotic Union Society, which invited Henry "Orator" Hunt and Major Cartwright to speak at a reformist public rally in Manchester, but the elderly Cartwright was unable to attend what became the
Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Square, Manchester, St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to d ...
. Later in 1819, Cartwright was arrested for speaking at a parliamentary reform meeting in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, indicted for conspiracy and was condemned to pay a fine of £100. Cartwright then wrote ''The English Constitution'', which outlined his ideas including government by the people and legal equality which he considered could only be achieved by universal suffrage, the secret ballot and equal electoral districts. He became the main patron of the
Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
publisher Thomas Jonathan Wooler, best known for his satirical journal ''
The Black Dwarf ''The Black Dwarf'' (1817–1824) was a satirical radical journal of early 19th century Britain. It was published by Thomas Jonathan Wooler, starting in January 1817 as an eight-page newspaper, then later becoming a 32-page pamphlet. It was price ...
'', who actively supported Cartwright's campaigning. Cartwright had sent a copy of ''The English Constitution'' to former
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...
,
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
. Jefferson wrote to Cartwright in July:
"Your age of eighty-four, and mine of eighty-one years, ensure us a speedy meeting. We may then commune at leisure, and more fully, on the good and evil, which in the course of our long lives, we have both witnessed; and in the mean time, I pray you to accept assurances of my high veneration and esteem for your person and character".


Industry

In 1788, Major Cartwight sold his heavily mortgaged estates at Marnham, buying others at
Brothertoft Brothertoft is a village in Lincolnshire, England, about northwest from the market town of Boston. It is part of the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft . History Evidence has been found that the area now known as Brothertoft was k ...
,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
. The same year with 18 others, he erected a large mill at the bottom of Spital Hill in
Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfie ...
. It was called the Revolution Mill in celebration of the centenary of the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
. He hoped to weave cloth using the
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
s of his brother
Edmund Cartwright Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politi ...
. He also began the mechanical spinning of
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. A ...
, or rather
worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, fo ...
. This business was not successful. The mill stood idle within a few years and was advertised to sale in 1798 and 1805. The mill was later largely demolished and only one building remains.


Agriculture

Cartwright took a keen interest in agricultural improvement and used his estate at Brothertoft to conduct crop trials and to develop new agricultural implements, several of which were invented by his bailiff and later estate steward, William Amos. He also turned over a large part of his estate to the cultivation of
woad ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...
, creating dedicated buildings and improving the apparatus used to process the crop.


Personal life

In 1780, he married Ann Catherine Dashwood, a daughter of prominent
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
landowner Samuel Dashwood and Anne ( Bateman) Dashwood. She was a granddaughter of George Dashwood, MP for Stockbridge (and son of
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional power ...
Sir
Samuel Dashwood Sir Samuel Dashwood JP ( – 12 August 1705) was an English merchant and Tory politician. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1702. Early life The son of Francis Dashwood, a London merchant, by his wife Alice Sleigh, he was a brother of Sir Francis ...
), and James Bateman, MP for
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
(and son of banker Sir James Bateman). He adopted his niece Frances Dorothy Cartwright, daughter of his brother Edmund. Cartwright died in London on 23 September 1824, and was buried at St Mary's Church, Finchley, north London.


Legacy

In 1835, a monument to him was erected in the churchyard, paid for by public subscription. It is a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and was on the
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
Heritage at Risk Register due to its dangerous condition. However the monument has since been removed from the register after being restored in 2019, as a result of a £79,000 grant from Historic England. In 1831, a monument from a design by Macdowell was erected to him in
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mu ...
, London, where he had lived. Burton Crescent, the original name of the street, was later renamed Cartwright Gardens in his honour. His statue faces a student
hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or universit ...
and backs onto tennis courts and a terrace of houses, most of which serve as small hotels. Captain
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
named
Cartwright Sound Cartwright Sound is a sound on the southwest coast of Graham Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It was named by Captain George Vancouver in honour of John Cartwright, then serving in the Royal Nav ...
, on the west coast of
Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other p ...
in the
Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...
of British Columbia, Canada, in his honour in relation to his Royal Navy service under Admiral Howe. The ''Life and Correspondence of Major Cartwright'', edited by his niece Frances Dorothy Cartwright, was published in 1826. John Cartwright House, built in 1976 on the Mansford Estate in
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...
, was named in his honour. The estate was built by
Tower Hamlets Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, cur ...
and a number of the blocks were named after social and political reformers. In 2006, the Estate transferred to Tower Hamlets Community Housing, a local
housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fin ...
.


References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, John 1740 births 1824 deaths People from Bassetlaw District English activists English businesspeople English philosophers English suffragists English reformers English male non-fiction writers Royal Navy officers British Militia officers