James Pitt was an 18th-century English

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and deist. James Pitt (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1714 – 1755) was a former schoolmaster who, under the pen name of "Francis Osborne," wrote political propaganda for the

Whig government In British politics, a Whig government may refer to the following British governments administered by the Whigs: * Whig Junto, a name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party **First Whig Junto, th ...

. He also wrote many

Christian deist Christian deism is a standpoint in the philosophy of religion stemming from Christianity and Deism. It can often refer to Deists who believe in the moral teachings—but not the divinity—of Jesus. Corbett and Corbett (1999) cite John Adams an ...

articles under the pen names "Socrates" and "Publicola." These articles were lead articles and often the only original articles in one of England's most popular newspapers, the London Journal. Pitt's paper sold 5,000 copies a week, and because of the way newspapers were consumed in that time, it has been estimated he may have been read or heard by as many as a hundred-thousand people each week. Furthermore, many of his Christian deist writings were republished in Benjamin Franklin's American newspaper. Pitt was a Christian deist, and in many of his articles for the London Journal, he expressed the most important points of Christian deism. Pitt was buried 23 January 1763 at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. "Mr. Pitt, who died at his house in Essex-street at the age of 84, had formerly been editor of one of the periodical papers in favor of Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

, and is supposed to be the person alluded to in the

Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' () is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess, Dulness, and the progress of her chosen agents as they ...

under the name of Mother Osborne." Some letters of Mr. Pitt's are printed in Dr. Howard's Collection.

References

* British male journalists Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{UK-journalist-stub