William Johnson Fox

William Johnson Fox

William Johnson Fox (born March 1, 1786 in Uggeshall Farm, Wrentham , about 30 km southeast of Norwich , † June 3, 1864 in London ) was an English Unitarian clergyman, publicist and politician.

He studied theology from 1806-1809 at the Independent College in Homerton (London) under John Pye Smith, but also continued his education independently. In 1809 he took over a pastorate in Fareham (Hampshire), in 1812 in Chichester. In 1817 he took over the Unitarian congregation in London, which in 1824 built a new church on South Place in Finsbury. He headed this congregation until 1852. The associated tasks also included the publication of the Monthly Repository , the journal of the Unitarian congregation, which he wrote in the years 1831–1836 with his own contributions and those of his friends (including John Stuart Mill , Harriet Martineau ua) made a platform for his ideas for social reform, which had an impact far beyond Unitarian circles.

In general, his journalistic and political interests outweighed the theological. He worked u. a. for the abolition of the mercantilist grain laws that hindered the importation of cheap agricultural products into England. 1847-1863 he was a member of the House of Commons from Oldham .

After his death, his extensive journalistic work was collected in a memorial edition , the 12th volume of which also contains a biographical sketch.

Complete edition

Memorial edition of collected works of William Johnson Fox , ed. By WB Hodgson and HJ Slack. 12 vols., C. Fox and Trübner & Co., London 1865-1868.

literature

Richard CB Garnett: The Life of WJ Fox, public teacher & social reformer, 1786–1864 by the late Richard Garnett, concluded by Edward Garnett. With seven illustrations, etc. John Lane, London / New York 1910.