George Holyoake
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George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 - 22 January 1906), English secularist and co-operator, was born in Birmingham, England. He coined the term "secularism" in 1846.[1]
At an early age he became an Owenite lecturer, and in 1841 was the last person convicted for blasphemy in a public lecture, though this had no theological character and the incriminating words were merely a reply to a question addressed to him from the body of the meeting.
He nevertheless underwent six months imprisonment, and upon his release invented the inoffensive term secularism as descriptive of his opinions, and established the Reasoner in their support. He was also the last person indicted for publishing an unstamped newspaper, but the prosecution was dropped upon the repeal of the tax.
His later years were chiefly devoted to the promotion of the cooperative movement among lower-class workers. He served as President of the first day of the 1887 Co-operative Congress.[2] He wrote the history of the Rochdale Pioneers (1857), The History of Co-operation in England (1875; revised ed., 1906), and The Co-operative Movement of To-day (1891). He also published (1892) his autobiography, under the title of Sixty Years of an Agitator's Life, and in 1905 two volumes of reminiscences, Bygones worth Remembering. He died at Brighton on January 22, 1906. Holyoake's papers and publications are held at Bishopsgate Library and the National Co-operative Archive, Manchester.
[edit] References
- ^ Feldman, Noah (2005). Divided by God. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 113
- ^ Congress Presidents 1869-2002, February 2002, <http://archive.co-op.ac.uk/downloadFiles/congressPresidentstable.pdf>. Retrieved on 10 May 2008
- J. McCabe, Life and Letters of G. J. Holyoake (2 vols, 1908); C. W. F. Goss, Descriptive Bibliography of the Writings of G. J. Holyoake (1908).
[edit] Writings by G. J. Holyoake
- Rationalism A Treatise for the Times (London: J. Watson, 1845)
- The History of the Last Trial by Jury for Atheism in England A Fragment of Autobiography (London: J. Watson, 1850)
- Christianity and Secularism Report of a Public Discussion Between Rev. Brewin and G. J. Holyoake (London: Ward & co., 1853)
- Rudiments of Public Speaking and Debate or, Hints on the Application of Logic (New York: McElrath & Barker, 1853)
[edit] External links
- Secularism 101: Defining Secularism: Origins with George Jacob Holyoake
- Collection Description of the Holyoake archive, held at the Bishopsgate Institute, London
- Collection Description of the Holyoake archive, held at the National Co-operative Archive, Manchester, UK
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
