Blackwell Reference Online

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Francis Place, known as “the radical tailor of Charing Cross,” was a radical reformer whose impressive organizational skill placed him at the center of political and social reform movements of the nineteenth century. Place was born in Vinegar Yard, London, in November 1771, the son of Simon Place, a bailiff, and Mary Gray. Despite a difficult childhood, Place was educated from the age of 4, although he himself admitted that he learned little before the age of 11. Between the ages of 13 and 17, Place was apprenticed to a leather breeches-maker but also continued his education, teaching himself many subjects, including French and algebra. In 1790 Place married Elizabeth Chadd, with whom he had 15 children, five of whom died in infancy. Place first involved himself in political action in 1793 when he took a leading role in a strike of his fellow breeches-makers. The endeavor left him unemployed for eight months, during which time he read Hume, Locke , Adam Smith , Paine , and Godwin . He turned his back on religion, becoming an agnostic, and in June 1794 joined the London Corresponding Society (LCS), quickly rising through its ranks and becoming chairman in September 1795. However, by 1797 Place had resigned his membership, disapproving of the increasingly radical direction the LCS was taking. Between 1799 and 1806 Place took a step back from politics and focused on building up ... log in or subscribe to read full text