William Johnson Fox
Encyclopedia
William Johnson Fox was an English
religious and political orator.
, Suffolk
. He trained for the Independent ministry
, at the dissenting academy known as Homerton College
. His tutor there was John Pye Smith, the Congregational theologian associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, Repeal of the Corn Laws and the abolition of slavery.
Fox later seceded to the Unitarians
, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of pronounced rationalism
at the South Place Chapel, then in Finsbury
but now better known as the South Place Ethical Society
or Conway Hall. As a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law
movement, Fox won celebrity as an impassioned orator and journalist, and from 1847 to 1862 he intermittently represented Oldham
in Parliament as a Liberal
.
, and a frequent contributor to the Westminster Review
, and published works on political and religious topics. An edition of his Works was edited by William Ballantyne Hodgson
and Henry James Slack, and appeared from 1865.
. On Flower's death, his two daughters, Eliza Flower
and Sarah Fuller Flower Adams
, became Fox's wards. Fox separated from his wife in the 1830s, and, causing much scandal, apparently set up home with Eliza Flower and his children. His daughter was Eliza Fox Bridell, wife of Frederick Lee Bridell
, both of whom were accomplished artists. Following the separation from his wife, Fox brought Eliza up himself, living first in Stamford Hill
and later Bayswater
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
religious and political orator.
Life
He was born near SouthwoldSouthwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. He trained for the Independent ministry
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
, at the dissenting academy known as Homerton College
Independent College, Homerton
Independent College, Homerton, later Homerton Academy, was a dissenting academy just outside London, England, in the 18th and early 19th centuries.-Background:...
. His tutor there was John Pye Smith, the Congregational theologian associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, Repeal of the Corn Laws and the abolition of slavery.
Fox later seceded to the Unitarians
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of pronounced rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
at the South Place Chapel, then in Finsbury
Finsbury
Finsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...
but now better known as the South Place Ethical Society
South Place Ethical Society
The South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and is the only remaining Ethical society in the United Kingdom...
or Conway Hall. As a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
movement, Fox won celebrity as an impassioned orator and journalist, and from 1847 to 1862 he intermittently represented Oldham
Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)
Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in Parliament as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
.
Works
He was editor of the Monthly RepositoryMonthly Repository
The Monthly Repository was a British monthly Unitarian periodical which ran between 1806 and 1838.The Monthly Repository was established when Robert Aspland bought William Vidler's Universal Theological Magazine and changed the name to the Monthly Repository of Theology and General Literature...
, and a frequent contributor to the Westminster Review
Westminster Review
The Westminster Review was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal until 1828....
, and published works on political and religious topics. An edition of his Works was edited by William Ballantyne Hodgson
William Ballantyne Hodgson
William Ballantyne Hodgson was a Scottish educational reformer and political economist.-Life:The son of William Hodgson, a printer, he was born at Edinburgh on 6 October 1815. In 1823 he entered the Edinburgh High School, and, after working for a short time in a lawyer's office, matriculated in...
and Henry James Slack, and appeared from 1865.
Reputation
The ambition of Fox was to become a great political orator and debater, in which at last he succeeded. His mental agility was manifest in his reply to an elector whom he had canvassed for a vote, and who offered him a halter [an old euphemism for nooseNooseA noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot slides to make the loop collapsible. Knots used for making nooses include the running bowline, the tarbuck knot, and the slip knot.-Use in hanging:...
] instead. "Oh thank you," said Fox, "I would not deprive you of what is evidently a family relic."
His method was to take each argument of an opponent, and dispose of it in regular order. His passion was for argument, upon great or petty subjects. He availed himself of every opportunity to speak. "During five whole sessions," he said, "I spoke every night but one; and I regret that I did not speak on that night, too." - Successful Methods of Public Speaking, 1920
Family
Fox was a friend of radical journalist Benjamin FlowerBenjamin Flower
Benjamin Flower was an English radical journalist and political writer, a vocal opponent of his country's involvement in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars.-Life:...
. On Flower's death, his two daughters, Eliza Flower
Eliza Flower
Eliza Flower was a British musician and composer. In addition to her own work, Flower became known for her friendships including those with William Johnson Fox, Robert Browning, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor.-Biography:...
and Sarah Fuller Flower Adams
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams was an English poet.-Biography:Sarah Fuller Flower was born at High Street, Old Harlow, Essex, younger daughter of Benjamin Flower, editor and the sister of composer Eliza Flower....
, became Fox's wards. Fox separated from his wife in the 1830s, and, causing much scandal, apparently set up home with Eliza Flower and his children. His daughter was Eliza Fox Bridell, wife of Frederick Lee Bridell
Frederick Lee Bridell
Frederick Lee Bridell was a popular painter of 19th century Britain, initially as a Portrait artist, gaining favour with luminaries such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning who entertained Bridell and his wife , for their wedding meal at Bocca di Leone, Rome in 1859.His early professional career was as...
, both of whom were accomplished artists. Following the separation from his wife, Fox brought Eliza up himself, living first in Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
and later Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
.