Elihu Burritt

Elihu Burritt 1810-79, American reformer, b. New Britain, Conn. A blacksmith, he studied mathematics, languages, and geography and became known as "the learned blacksmith." Profoundly idealistic, he supported many reform causes—antislavery, temperance, and self-education—and he pleaded for them when he edited (1844-51) the weekly Christian Citizen at Worcester, Mass. Most of all, however, he worked to promote world peace, organizing world peace congresses. Burritt argued for cheaper international postal rates and greater intellectual exchange among nations. Among his much-read books were Sparks from the Anvil (1846) and Ten Minute Talks (1873).

Bibliography: See M. Curti, ed., The Learned Blacksmith (his letters and journals, 1937, repr. 1973); biography by P. Tolis (1968).

Burritt, Elihu (1810–79), was called “the learned blacksmith” because in New Britain, Conn., and Worcester, Mass., he forged metals and Greek verbs with equal ease. Influenced by William Ladd, he conducted a weekly paper, The Christian Citizen (1844–51), which became an important organ of pacifism, and he traveled through the U.S. and England to advocate this cause. Besides his Lectures and Speeches (1866), he wrote many essays and travel accounts, reminiscent of Cobbett. The erudition of this self‐educated blacksmith is also indicated by his translation of Longfellow's poems into Sanskrit.