Herbert Burrows was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 socialist activist.

Born in Redgrave, Suffolk

Redgrave, Suffolk

Redgrave is a civil parish and a small village in the Rickinghall and Walsham ward in the Mid Suffolk district in Suffolk county in eastern England....

, Burrows' father Amos was a former Chartist

Chartism

Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...

 leader. He worked for the Inland Revenue

Inland Revenue

The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...

 and briefly studied at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

.

In 1877, Burrows moved to London and joined the National Secular Society

National Secular Society

The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...

. He was a founder member of the Aristotelian Society

Aristotelian Society

The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...

 in 1880, joined the Social and Political Education League and became Vice President of the Manhood Suffrage League

Manhood Suffrage League

The Manhood Suffrage League was a nineteenth century ultra-radical and, later, socialist club.The organisation was founded in 1874 as the Democratic and Trades Alliance Association...

. In 1881, he was a founder member of the Democratic Federation

Social Democratic Federation

The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...

, and he became its treasurer in 1883.

Burrows supported the Federation's commitment to socialism in 1884, when it was renamed the Social Democratic Federation

Social Democratic Federation

The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...

 (SDF). He represented the group on the executive of the Law and Liberty League.

With Annie Besant

Annie Besant

Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...

, Burrows was a key organiser of the London matchgirls strike of 1888

London matchgirls strike of 1888

The London match-girls’ strike of 1888 was a strike of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow, London.-The strike:...

, and afterwards became the treasurer of the Union of Women Matchmakers. He also became a prominent member of the Rainbow Circle, the Theosophical Society

Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...

, the International Arbitration and Peace Association

International Arbitration and Peace Association

The International Arbitration and Peace Association was an organization founded in London, in 1880 by Hodgson Pratt , an English pacifist. Its stated objective was the use of arbitration and peace in place of armed conflicts and force. It published a journal, Concord....

 and the International Arbitration League

International Arbitration League

The International Arbitration League was founded by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Sir William Randal Cremer and was later incorporated into the Commonwealth of World Citizens....

.

Burrows stood for Parliament unsuccessfully in the Haggerston by-election, 1908, and again in Haggerston

Haggerston (UK Parliament constituency)

Haggerston, formally known as the "Haggerston Division of Shoreditch", was a borough constituency centred on the Haggerston district of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch in London...

in 1910. Disillusioned by his poor performance and the SDF's apparent commitment to militarism, he resigned from the organisation in 1911.