Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones 1819 – 1869
From a wealthy family and trained as a barrister, Ernest Jones came relatively late to Chartism. He swiftly became a colleague of Feargus O’Connor, who admired his poetical writing and public speeches. He was a close associate of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, who contributed to his newspapers. He was an advocate of ‘physical force’ Chartism and spent two years in prison for a seditious speech.
Ernest Jones, Photographer unknown. M73617 copyright Manchester Local Studies.
One of a set of five images of leading Chartists chosen by the historian Dorothy Thompson, in whose memory they are published.
Dorothy Thompson
Dorothy Katharine Gane Thompson. Historian. 1923 -2011.
Dorothy was an immensely influential historian of Chartism, the first mass working class movement. She was helping us with images of Chartism at the time of her untimely death. When asked to name her favourite five Chartists she replied, in no particular order; Feargus O’Connor, John Frost, Ernest Jones, William Cuffay and James ‘Bronterre’ O’Brien.
Our thanks to Kate Thompson for the photograph of Dorothy.
http://www.breviarystuff.org.uk/dorothy-thompson-the-chartists/
Dorothy and E.P. Thompson
A memorial lecture was deleivered in 2012 by Shelia Rowbotham and is available as a pamphlet from Past Pixels.
Further activities are planned in 2020. Contact us on mail@pastpixels.co.uk
