Carlile, Richard, 1790-1843

Richard Carlile, English radical publisher and writer. Inspired by the reformist writings of Thomas Paine, he distributed various radical tracts, including those of William Hone, and wrote works of his own. For his published accounts of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, he was charged with blasphemy and seditious libel and sentenced to six years in prison. Freed in 1825, he published Every Woman's Book, or, What is Love, a controversial book advocating birth control.

From the description of Richard Carlile manuscript material : 2 items, 1824-1827 (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 81896195

From the guide to the Richard Carlile manuscript material : 2 items, 1824-1827, (The New York Public Library. Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.)

Richard Carlile, British freethinker and journalist, became a strong advocate of freedom of the press and was first arrested in 1817 for the illegal distribution of periodicals. Thereafter he was prosecuted several times for publishing the works of Thomas Paine and other literature considered blasphemous or radical, and altogether spent over nine years in prison as a result. Foremost among his publications was The Republican (1819-26), most of which was written during his six-year confinement in Dorchester Gaol. A freethinker in religion as in politics, Carlile was strongly anticlerical and was once imprisoned for resisting the payment of church rates.

From the description of Papers of Richard Carlile, 1819-1900. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122396775

Epithet: freethinker, publisher and writer

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000986.0x0000f6