Bradlaugh

Who Is the Guy in the Picture?

Charles Bradlaugh (1833-91) grew up in the East End of London. He became an atheist, and was thrown out of his home by his parents, who were under the influence of the local vicar. Bradlaugh joined the army in his teens, and saw the devastation of Ireland in the aftermath of the famine. Then he returned to London, and became a radical.

As a young man, Bradlaugh became leader of the London Secularists. He founded the National Secular Society and began publishing The National Reformer. Bradlaugh led the NSS and edited the Reformer for nearly thirty years. He lectured constantly on Freethought and politics, and was regularly attacked, vilified, and sued by conservatives and supporters of religion. He was convicted of blasphemy for publishing a book on birth control and family planning for working class readers.

Bradlaugh was an organizer and leader of the public demonstrations in London that pressured Parliament into allowing British working class people to vote. He was elected to Parliament, but because he asked to say an affirmation rather than take the traditional Loyalty Oath on the Bible, he was prevented from serving. For six years, a vindictive group of aristocrats barred him from Parliament. During that time, he was re-elected four times by his outraged constituents. On one occasion, he was physically attacked and thrown out into the street by a dozen guards and policemen, as he tried to enter the House of Commons.

Bradlaugh’s life will be the subject of a three-part biography/historical novel by Dan Allosso. The first volume, called East End Infidel, dealing with his childhood in London, will be released by Stay Outside the Box Publishing in mid-2008.