Robert John Hartwell (1810 – 1875) was a

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trade unionist and newspaper editor. Hartwell worked as a compositor, and in his spare time occasionally wrote newspaper articles. In this role, he took part in the " War of the Unstamped" in the early 1830s. He supported the

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who were arrested and tried in 1834 for swearing a secret oath as members of a friendly society. Led by George Loveless, the group had ...

, and was treasurer of the Fund for the Relief of the Dorchester Labourers. He joined the

London Working Men's Association The London Working Men's Association was an organisation established in London in 1836.

in 1836, and in 1837 chaired the meeting at which the People's Charter was originally proposed. In 1839, he edited ''The Charter'' newspaper, in support of the movement, but he soon left political activity. In 1861, Hartwell worked with George Potter to establish '' The Bee-Hive'', a newspaper which supported trade unionism. The main contributor to the newspaper, he was also its editor from 1863. He also chaired the first meeting of the

Reform League The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the su ...

, in 1865. Hartwell announced that he would contest

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

as an independent workingmen's candidate, but he withdrew before the poll was taken.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartwell, Robert 1810 births 1875 deaths Chartists English newspaper editors English male journalists Trade unionists from London