CHARLES BRADLAUGH Member of Parliament

26 Sept 1833 to 30 Jan 1891

Charles Bradlaugh was born 26th September 1833 in Hoxton, east London. He was the eldest of five children born to Charles Bradlaugh and Elizabeth Trimby.

Up to the age of 12 Charles was very religious but then he began to question some parts of the bible and at the age of 16 he left home because of religious differences with his father and the local priest. The following year he joined the army where he continued to develop his radical beliefs and spent most of his time in Ireland.

He disliked army life and bought himself out in 1853, after about three years service. He returned to London and found work in a Solicitors office. In 1855 he married Susannah HOOPER and they had three children. He did not see very much of his family because most of his spare time was spent touring the country giving talks and lectures on politics and religion.

He founded a radical journal "The National Reformer" which published many articles which the authorities considered obscene and blasphemous.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Northampton in 1880 and was prevented from taking his seat on a number of occasions. In 1881 he was forcibly removed from the House of Commons (newspaper article). He was eventually allowed to take his seat in 1886.

He died on the 30th January 1891 of a heart attack and was buried at Brockwood cemetery in Woking, Sussex.

There is a public park named after him in Northampton and there is more information on his life and the people who influenced him can be found on this link.