author
Henry Hunt
1773–1835
A fiery English reformer known as "Orator" Hunt, he became one of the best-known voices calling for wider political rights in the early 19th century. He is especially remembered for his role in the movement around the Peterloo meeting and for helping shape the radical tradition that fed into Chartism.
3 Audiobooks
Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 3
by Henry Hunt
Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 1
by Henry Hunt
Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. — Volume 2
by Henry Hunt
About the author
Born in Wiltshire in 1773, Henry Hunt began adult life as a prosperous farmer before turning to politics. His powerful public speaking earned him the nickname "Orator" Hunt, and he became a leading campaigner for parliamentary reform, universal suffrage, and the repeal of the Corn Laws.
Hunt was one of the main speakers at the mass reform meeting at St Peter's Field in Manchester in 1819, the event later known as Peterloo. The violence that followed made him a nationally known figure, and his imprisonment only increased his reputation among reform supporters.
He later served as an MP for Preston, where he continued to press for broader political representation. Though controversial in his own time, he is now remembered as an important early radical whose activism influenced later working-class reform movements, including Chartism.