Henry Albert Seymour (28 January 1860 – 3 February 1938) was an English
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
,
individualist anarchist,
gramophone innovator and survey author, and
Baconian. He published the first English language
anarchist periodical in Britain and is credited, in 1913, with introducing the
Edison disc into the country.
Biography
Seymour was born in
Hayes, Bromley, England on 28 January 1860.
He married Clara Elizabeth Spice on 2 November 1880.
Seymour first came to prominence in 1882, while living in
Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Seymour was appointed the secretary of the Tunbridge Wells Secular Society and he was convicted in the summer of 1882 of
blasphemy.
In 1885, Seymour published the first English-language individualist
anarchist periodical in Britain, ''
The Anarchist''. He began work on the first issue while still living in Tunbridge Wells, although it was not published until he completed his move to
Islington, London
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
.
The paper was produced from 1885 to 1888 and was briefly co-edited by
Peter Kropotkin and
Charlotte Wilson, both of whom went on to form
Freedom following disagreements between the three.
As well as producing ''The Anarchist'', Seymour published a wide range of pamphlets and tracts, and he printed handbills for other groups, including the Tunbridge Wells branch of the
SDF. The SDF pamphlet was published by the "International Publishing Company", owned by Seymour.
Seymour is important in the history of British
anarchism, particularly individualist anarchism a branch of anarchism which has dwindled in influence in Britain since the early 20th century. Seymour published a wide range of works on anarchist subjects. He was involved in the late 19th century radical community in London and it seems likely that Seymour printed material for many individuals and groups.
Seymour was involved in many groups and causes during the latter 1900s. He was a founding member of Free Currency Propaganda
and produced a pamphlet called ''The Monomaniacs: A Fable in Finance''.
Seymour took over editorship of ''The Adult: A Journal for the Advancement of freedom in Sexual Relationships'', following the arrest of
George Bedborough, the previous editor.
[
In the early 20th century, Seymour became involved in the nascent gramophone industry. He introduced Edison's phonograph to Britain in 1913, and wrote about it in ''Sound Wave'' magazine. He wrote ''The Reproduction of Sound'' in 1917, described as "acknowledged as the standard work on the subject" in the industry at the time.][ He produced a gramophone called the Superphone and was responsible for many innovations in gramophone technology.
Seymour was key in the development of EMG Gramophones and produced parts for the early production models.
In his later life Seymour became involved in the Francis Bacon Society, and was the editor of the society's journal, Baconiana.][
]
Bibliography
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References
External links
* – Seymour bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Henry Albert
1860 births
1938 deaths
Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship
British secularists
English anarchists
English inventors
English magazine editors
English pamphleteers
Individualist anarchists