Robert John Hartwell (1810 – 1875) was a

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trade unionist and newspaper editor. Hartwell worked as a compositor, and in his spare time occasionally wrote newspaper articles. In this role, he took part in the "

War of the Unstamped Taxes on knowledge was a slogan defining an extended British campaign against duties and taxes on newspapers, their advertising content, and the paper they were printed on. The paper tax was early identified as an issue: "A tax upon Paper, is a ta ...

" in the early 1830s. He supported the

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on ...

, and was treasurer of the Fund for the Relief of the Dorchester Labourers. He joined the

London Working Men's Association The London Working Men's Association was an organisation established in London in 1836.

in 1836, and in 1837 chaired the meeting at which the People's Charter was originally proposed. In 1839, he edited ''The Charter'' newspaper, in support of the movement, but he soon left political activity. In 1861, Hartwell worked with George Potter to establish '' The Bee-Hive'', a newspaper which supported trade unionism. The main contributor to the newspaper, he was also its editor from 1863. He also chaired the first meeting of the

Reform League The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the success ...

, in 1865. Hartwell announced that he would contest

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

as an independent workingmen's candidate, but he withdrew before the poll was taken.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartwell, Robert 1810 births 1875 deaths Chartists English newspaper editors English male journalists Trade unionists from London