Henry Hunt

Henry "Orator" Hunt was a British radical speaker and agitator who was regarded as a pioneer of working-class radicalism and had a significant impact on the subsequent Chartist movement. He advocated for parliamentary reform and the removal of the Corn Laws. He was the first member of parliament to push for women's suffrage; in 1832, he delivered a woman's petition to parliament seeking the right to vote. Hunt was born on November 6, 1773 in Upavon, Wiltshire. Hunt became a successful farmer....See more

Henry "Orator" Hunt was a British radical speaker and agitator who was regarded as a pioneer of working-class radicalism and had a significant impact on the subsequent Chartist movement. He advocated for parliamentary reform and the removal of the Corn Laws. He was the first member of parliament to push for women's suffrage; in 1832, he delivered a woman's petition to parliament seeking the right to vote. Hunt was born on November 6, 1773 in Upavon, Wiltshire. Hunt became a successful farmer. He became involved in radical politics during the Napoleonic Wars, supporting Francis Burdett. His public speaking talent was recognized in Bristol electoral politics, when he criticized both the Whigs and the Tories' complacency and declared himself a supporter of democratic radicalism. It was thanks to his unique abilities that a new program beyond the narrow politics of the day made steady headway in the difficult years after the end of the war with France.Hunt became known as the "Orator" after delivering rousing remarks during mass rallies in Spa Fields, London, in 1816, a term given to Robert Southey. He supported a programme that comprised annual parliaments and universal suffrage, which was pushed publicly and without the secretive element of the previous Jacobin societies. See less