"On 24 March 1877 Annie (Besant) worked with Bradlaugh to republish Dr Charles Knowlton’s Fruits of Philosophy [1832] (a pamphlet that advocated the use of contraceptive practice); an act that led to the arrest of Besant and Bradlaugh on 6 April 1877 for transgressing the Obscene Publications Act 1857. The following ‘Obscenity trial’ was held on 18 June... both were proclaimed guilty. However, the sentence was overturned on a technicality so Besant and Bradlaugh were able to walk free. The arrest and trial were widely publicised across the country...the associated press coverage succeeded in propelling the pamphlet’s informative advice far beyond their initial reach... 1891 saw the death of Charles Bradlaugh who had become one of Annie’s closest and longest friends. Perhaps in recognition of this, this is the year in which Annie chose to bring her autobiography to an end when she was writing it in 1893, aged 46."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Atheism activistsAtheists from EnglandPolitical activistsFree speech activistsActivists from England
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chloe Wilson, Annie Besant: ‘A Stormy, Public, Much Attacked and Slandered Life', East End Women's Museum, (4 July 2020)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Bradlaugh
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh (26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century.
5 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Charles Bradlaugh →
Related Quotes
"The Bible God I deny; the Christian God I disbelieve in; but I am not rash enough to say there is no God as long as y…"
"Without free speech no search for Truth is possible; without free speech no discovery of Truth is useful; without fre…"
"Known as the "boy orator" of secular and atheistic circles in his youth, trained in the rough school of public disput…"
"Mr. Bradlaugh, the new member for Northampton, who now forced the question forward, as O'Connell had forced forward t…"
"This, in a way, would be exceeding odd And almost justify man’s ways to God— If, by the healing of these hills, the b…"
"The question is often asked, "What do women want?" We want men "to stand out of our sunshine"; that is all."
"The New Woman is she who had discovered herself, not relatively as mother, wife, sister, but absolutely...she recogni…"
"...I would rather have this new woman - even in her occasional perversity, exaggeration, and revolt - than the female…"
"We want to grow as flowers of the field are permitted to grow, whether they be of male or female form. We want to dev…"
"...The political head of this colony says women do not want the removal of their disabilities. I can believe that a f…"