Charles Bradlaugh

Charles Bradlaugh , 1833-91, British social reformer, a secularist. Editor of the free-thinking weekly National Reformer from 1860 and later associated with Annie Besant , he was an early advocate of woman's suffrage, birth control, free speech, national education, trade unionism, and other controversial causes. In 1880, Bradlaugh was elected to Parliament after several unsuccessful attempts. Rather than take a Bible oath to be sworn in as a member of Parliament, Bradlaugh, an atheist, demanded the right to take an affirmation. This action provoked a great deal of controversy, and it was not until 1886 that the matter was settled in his favor. His numerous works include Land for the People (1877), The True Story of My Parliamentary Struggle (1882), and Speeches (1890).

Bibliography: See W. L. Arnstein, The Bradlaugh Case (1965); D. Tribe, President Charles Bradlaugh, M. P. (1971).

Bradlaugh, Charles (1833–91) British social reformer. A republican and keen supporter of reform movements, he was tried, with Annie BESANT, in 1877–78 for printing a pamphlet on birth control. The charge failed and contraceptives could thereafter be openly advertised.

Bradlaugh, Charles (1833–91), social reformer and advocate of free thought. His voice was to be heard on platforms throughout the country and in the National Reformer (of which he became proprietor) which was a chief outlet for his friend James Thomson's poems. He was elected MP for Northampton in 1880, but was unseated having been refused the right to make affirmation of allegiance instead of taking the parliamentary oath; he was re-elected in 1881, but it was not until 1886 that he took his seat, having agreed finally to take the oath. He was engaged in several lawsuits to maintain freedom of the press. In association with Mrs Besant, he republished a pamphlet The Fruits of Philosophy advocating birth control, which led to a six-month prison sentence and a £200 fine; the conviction was quashed on appeal.