Thomas Wooler
Thomas Jonathan Wooler was a prominent English radical born in Yorkshire in 1786, whose life was marked by his involvement in the reformist press and political activism. After moving to London as an apprentice printer, he became deeply engaged in the radical political movements of his time. Wooler founded the Socratic Union debating club in 1808 and later published The Republican, a magazine that included extracts from Thomas Paine's works, showcasing his commitment to political reform despite the risks of persecution.
In response to government suppression of the press, Wooler established The Black Dwarf, a radical journal known for its satirical attacks on the government. His legal battles, including a notable trial for seditious libel, illustrated his resilience and dedication to free speech. Wooler's later career shifted towards legal advocacy, culminating in the publication of *Every Man His Own Lawyer* in 1845, which aimed to empower the public regarding legal matters. He passed away in 1853, and though The Black Dwarf ceased publication in 1824, it later emerged as a significant symbol of press freedom in England, reflecting Wooler's impactful legacy in the fight for civil liberties.
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Thomas Wooler
- Born: 1786
- Birthplace: Yorkshire, England
- Died: October 29, 1853
- Place of death: Portland Road, London, England
Biography
Thomas Jonathan Wooler was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1786, but nothing is known of his parentage. He moved to London when he was apprenticed to a printer, and he became associated with the radical politics that were rife in that trade. In 1808, he ran a debating club, the Socratic Union, which met in the Mermaid Tavern in Hackney. In 1813, he published The Republican: A Weekly Historical Magazine—in which he published extracts from Tom Paine’s The Rights of Man (1794-1795), running a severe risk of prosecution. He went on to work for The Reasoner before publishing the theatrical periodical The Stage, a much safer commercial proposition.
In 1817, the government took measures to suppress the radical press, including the Stamp Act—which required publishers to pay a fee for every copy of a periodical they printed, drastically increasing the price of newspapers. In response to these “gagging acts,” Wooler founded the unstamped radical journal The Black Dwarf, initially as an eight- page underground newspaper, later as a thirty-two-page pamphlet. The name was ironically derived from that of a mildly scurrilous French humorous periodical named after one of Madame d’Aulnoy’s fairy tales, Le nain jaune (the yellow dwarf).
The tenor of The Black Dwarf’s attacks on Lord Liverpool’s government was scathingly satirical and blatantly inflammatory. Wooler was arrested and charged with seditious libel; he was prosecuted by the attorney general, Samuel Shepherd, and performed so well in his own defense—pleading not guilty on the grounds that it could not be proven that he had written the article cited in the charge—that he was only found guilty because the jury was guilty of blatant misconduct. A second trial was ordered, at which Wooler was acquitted. He immediately issued a pamphlet entitled An Appeal to the Citizens of London Against the Packing of Special Juries (1817).
Wooler became involved with Major John Cartwright’s reformist Hampden Club and was arrested again in 1819 for his part in a campaign to elect Sir Charles Wolseley as member of Parliament for Birmingham. Wooler was sentenced to fifteen months in Warwick Jail. The Black Dwarf folded for the last time in 1824 after Cartwright’s death. Wooler served thereafter as editor of the British Gazette but caused a great deal more trouble by going to court himself over Lincoln’s Inn’s refusal to admit him to chambers to study for the bar. He wrote an account of his case in 1826 to expose the restrictive practices of the Inns of Court.
After the passing of the 1832 Reform Act, Wooler gave up on political agitation to act as a legal advocate in the police courts, as a self-appointed public defender; his subsequent writings on the British legal system included a practical guide for laymen, Every Man His Own Lawyer, published in 1845. He died on October 29, 1853, in Portland Road, London; his will revealed that he had married the daughter of John Pratt of Kingsland, and that he had a son, but no further record of them survives. The Black Dwarf became far more famous after his death than it ever had when it was being published, becoming a key symbol of defiance in the battle to reestablish the freedom of the English press.