William Johnson Fox

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William Johnson Fox (1786-1864) was a religious and political orator, born near Southwold, Suffolk.

The ambition of Fox was to become a great political orator and debater, in which at last he succeeded. His mental agility was manifest in his reply to an elector whom he had canvassed for a vote, and who offered him a halter instead. "Oh thank you," said Fox, "I would not deprive you of what is evidently a family relic."

His method was to take each argument of an opponent, and dispose of it in regular order. His passion was for argument, upon great or petty subjects. He availed himself of every opportunity to speak. "During five whole sessions," he said, "I spoke every night but one; and I regret that I did not speak on that night, too." - Successful Methods of Public Speaking, 1920

He was trained for the Independent ministry, in Homerton (London), under John Pye Smith, theology. He later seceded to the Unitarians, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of pronounced rationalism at South Place, Finsbury. As a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law movement he won celebrity as an impassioned orator and journalist, and from 1847 to 1863 represented Oldham in Parliament. He was editor of the Monthly Repository, and a frequent contributor to the Westminster Review, and published various works on political and religious topics.