-
1 Cobbett, William
SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology[br]b. 9 March 1762 Farnham, Surrey, Englandd. 17 June 1835 Guildford, Surrey, England[br]English political writer and activist; writer on rural affairs, with a particular concern for the conditions of the agricultural worker; a keen experimental farmer who claimed responsibility for the import of Indian maize to Britain.[br]The son of a smallholder farmer and self-taught surveyor, William Cobbett was brought up to farm work from an early age. In 1783 he took employment as an attorney's clerk in London, but not finding this to his liking he travelled to Chatham with the intention of joining the Navy. A mistake in "taking the King's shilling" found him in an infantry regiment. After a year's training he was sent out to Nova Scotia and quickly gained the rank of sergeant major. On leaving the Army he brought corruption charges against three officers in his regiment, but did not press with the prosecution. England was not to his taste, and he returned to North America with his wife.In America Cobbett taught English to the growing French community displaced by the French Revolution. He found American criticism of Britain ill-balanced and in 1796 began to publish a daily newspaper under the title Porcupine's Gazetteer, in which he wrote editorials in defence of Britain. His writings won him little support from the Americans. However, on returning to London in 1800 he was offered, but turned down, the management of a Government newspaper. Instead he began to produce a daily paper called the Porcupine, which was superseded in 1802 by Cobbett's Political Register, this publication continued on a weekly basis until after his death. In 1803 he also began the Parliamentary Debates, which later merged into Hansard, the official report of parliamentary proceedings.In 1805 Cobbett took a house and 300-acre (120-hectare) farm in Hampshire, from which he continued to write, but at the same time followed the pursuits he most enjoyed. In 1809 his criticism of the punishment given to mutineers in the militia at Ely resulted in his own imprisonment. On his release in 1812 he decided that the only way to remain an independent publisher was to move back to the USA. He bought a farm at Hampstead, Long Island, New York, and published A Year's Residence in America, which contains, amongst other things, an interesting account of a farmer's year.Returning to Britain in the easier political climate of the 1820s, Cobbett bought a small seed farm in Kensington, then outside London. From there he made a number of journeys around the country, publishing accounts of them in his famous Rural Rides. His experiments and advice on the sowing and cultivation of crops, particularly turnips and swedes, and on forestry, were an important mechanism for the spread of ideas within the UK. He also claimed that he was the first to introduce the acacia and Indian maize to Britain. Much of his writing expresses a concern for the rural poor and he was firmly convinced that only parliamentary reform would achieve the changes needed. His political work and writing led to his election as Member of Parlaiment for Oldham in the 1835 election, which followed the Reform Act of 1832. However, by this time his energy was failing rapidly and he died peacefully at Normandy Farm, near Guildford, at the age of 73.[br]BibliographyCobbett's Observations on Priestley's Emigration, published in 1794, was the first of his pro-British tracts written in America. On the basis of his stay in that country he wrote A Year's Residence in America. His books on agricultural practice included Woodlands (1825) and Treatise on Cobbett's Corn (1828). Dealing with more social problems he wrote an English Grammar for the use of Apprentices, Plough Boys, Soldiers and Sailors in 1818, and Cottage Economy in 1821.Further ReadingAlbert Pell, 1902, article in Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 63:1–26 (describes the life and writings of William Cobbett).James Sambrook, 1973, William Cobbett, London: Routledge (a more detailed study).AP
См. также в других словарях:
List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters — See also: Lists of Dungeons Dragons monsters This is the list of Advanced Dungeons Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role playing game.[1] This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons Dragons 2nd… … Wikipedia
Michigan Islands Wilderness Area — Michigan Islands Wilderness Area, a relatively small wilderness area of 12.5 acres (0.05 sq. km.), consists of Pismire Island, Scarecrow Island, and Shoe Island within the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. These three islands, which… … Wikipedia
Dell Rapids, South Dakota — City … Wikipedia
Hemel Hempstead — infobox UK place country = England latitude= 51.7526 longitude= 0.4692 official name= Hemel Hempstead population= 81,143 shire district= Dacorum shire county = Hertfordshire region= East of England FireandRescue= Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue… … Wikipedia
Rockall Bank and Trough — The Rockall Trough (Scottish Gaelic: Clais Sgeir Rocail ) is a deep water bathymetric feature to the northwest of Scotland and Ireland, running roughly from southwest to northeast, flanked on the north by the Rockall Plateau and to the south by… … Wikipedia
Copper Country State Forest — IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) … Wikipedia
Au Sable State Forest — IUCN Category VI (Managed Resource Protected Area) … Wikipedia
Michigan — /mish i geuhn/, n. 1. a state in the N central United States. 9,258,344; 58,216 sq. mi. (150,780 sq. km). Cap.: Lansing. Abbr.: MI (for use with zip code), Mich. 2. Lake, a lake in the N central U.S., between Wisconsin and Michigan: one of the… … Universalium
Newton Woods — is a 40 acre (160,000 m2) parcel of oak hickory forest located in Cass County within the U.S. state of Michigan. The Newton tract was listed, in 1976 by the United States Department of the Interior, as a National Natural Landmark. The woods are… … Wikipedia
Clark, South Dakota — City Location in … Wikipedia
Mitchell, South Dakota — City Corn Palace in Mitchell … Wikipedia
