Herbert Burrows (12 June 1845 – 14 December 1922) was a British

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

activist.

Early life

Born in

Redgrave, Suffolk Redgrave is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, just south of the River Waveney that here forms the county boundary with Norfolk. The village is about west of the town of Diss. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 459 ...

, Burrows' father Amos was a former Chartist leader. Burrows educated himself using Cassell's shilling handbooks, becoming a

pupil teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

at the age of thirteen; he initially pursued a career in teaching before becoming an

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

officer. In 1869, he married Mary Hannah Musk (1845–1889). The couple had a daughter and a son. From 1872, Burrows studied briefly as a non-collegiate student at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, but did not take a degree. He worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

for the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

, including in Norwich, Barnet, Blackburn, and Chatham, a career that lasted until his retirement in 1907.

Activism

Burrows moved to London in 1877, where he joined radical clubs including the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

. He was a founder member of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

in 1880, joined the Social and Political Education League and became Vice President of the

Manhood Suffrage League The Manhood Suffrage League was a nineteenth-century ultra-radical and, later, socialist club. The organisation was founded in 1874 as the Democratic and Trades Alliance Association. Most of its initial members were tailors or shoemakers based ...

. In 1881, with

Henry Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 22 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first socialist p ...

, he formed the

Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

, and became its treasurer in 1883. Burrows supported the Federation's commitment to socialism in 1884, when it was renamed the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

(SDF). Often writing under the pseudonym C.V., he contributed articles to its newspaper, ''Justice''. He represented the group on the executive of the Law and Liberty League. With

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

—whom he had met through his connection with Bradlaugh and the National Secular Society—Burrows was a key organiser of the Bryant & May

matchgirls' strike In July 1888 the women and teenage girls working at the Bow Quarter, Bryant & May match factory in Bow, London, England went on strike. At first, the strikers were protesting the dismissal of a worker after employees had refused a demand from B ...

of 1888, and afterwards became the treasurer of the

Union of Women Matchmakers The Matchmakers' Union (founded as The Union of Women Matchmakers) was a British trade union formed in 1888 following the successful Matchgirls' strike. On its creation, it was the largest union of women and girls in the country, and inspired a w ...

, then the largest women's trade union in England. Burrows actively promoted unionisation among workers, and the success of the matchgirls' strike helped to galvanise the trade union movement. He maintained an active role in the Women's Trade Union League and the Women's Industrial Council until 1917. Burrows also became a prominent member of

South Place Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United King ...

, the

Rainbow Circle The Rainbow Circle was a political group consisting of Liberals, Fabians and socialists who first began to meet in 1893 in London to consider if it was possible to resolve the relationship between the various progressive forces they represented t ...

, the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

, the

International Arbitration and Peace Association The International Arbitration and Peace Association (IAPA) was an organisation founded in London in 1880 with the stated objective of promoting arbitration and peace in place of armed conflicts and force. It published a journal, ''Concord''. Found ...

and the

International Arbitration League The International Arbitration League was a society of pacifists run by working-class men. It was initially founded out of the British Workmen's Peace Committee, by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Sir William Randal Cremer and fellows from the recently ...

. From 1907 until 1922, Burrows was Appointed Lecturer to the South Place Ethical Society, now

Conway Hall Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United King ...

. He was a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

, vegetarian, and lifelong pacifist. Burrows stood for Parliament unsuccessfully in the

1908 Haggerston by-election The Haggerston (UK Parliament constituency), Haggerston by-election was a UK Parliamentary by-elections, Parliamentary by-election held on 1 August 1908. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament ( ...

, and again in

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

in 1910. He resigned from the SDF (then the Social Democratic Party) in 1911.

Death

Afflicted by paralysis from 1917, Burrows died at his home in Highbury Park, London on 14 December 1922.

References

External links

Herbert Burrows
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Herbert 1845 births 1922 deaths Social Democratic Federation members People from Redgrave, Suffolk British critics of religions British pacifists British socialists British social reformers