Elihu Burritt

Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810 – March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.[1]

Biography

Elihu Burritt was born December 8, 1810, in the town of New Britain, Connecticut. He is a descendant of William and Elizabeth Burritt from Stratford, Connecticut.[2] As an adult he was active in many causes, opposing slavery, working for temperance, and trying to achieve world peace. These accomplishments caused President Lincoln to appoint him as United States consul in Birmingham, England. He first trained as a blacksmith, and had "Learned Blacksmith" as a nickname.

During his time in Birmingham he lived in Harborne, then a rural village of to the west of the city, in a house which he named New Britain Villas. He was actively involved the local community, taking part in the committee for the rebuilding of the nearby St. Peter's Church.

During a trip abroad in 1846–47, he was touched by the suffering of the Irish peasantry. He also founded the peace organisation the League of Universal Brotherhood in 1846.[1] He organized the first international congress of the Friends of Peace, which convened in Brussels in September 1848.[1] A second "Peace Congress" met in Paris in 1849, presided over by Victor Hugo. Burritt attended the "Peace Congresses" at Frankfurt in 1850, London in 1851, Manchester in 1852 and Edinburgh in 1853. The outbreak of the Crimean War and the American Civil War jolted his views.

Burritt advocated that Britain, which introduced the uniform penny post in 1840, should introduce an international "ocean penny post" and reduce the cost from one shilling (12 pence) to threepence. He argued this would increase international correspondence, trade, and hence universal brotherhood. He urged the use of illustrated propaganda envelopes. Postal rates were gradually reduced, but his objective was not entirely achieved in his lifetime.

Elihu Burritt died on March 6, 1879 in New Britain.

Works

Burritt published at least 37 books and articles, including Sparks from the Anvil and Ten Minute Talks. In 1847, his pamphlet A Journal of a Visit of Three Days to Skibbereen made residents of the United States more aware of the potato famine in Ireland. He recorded his thoughts on the industrialization of communities in the Black Country in his book Walks in the Black Country.

Legacy

Each August the Town of New Marlborough, Massachusetts hosts an annual crafts and community fair in honor of Elihu Burrit. Elihu Burritt resided in the Berkshire County Town in 1830. He is one of several blacksmiths who may have inspired the poem "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.[3]

Burritt College, which operated in Spencer, Tennessee, from 1848 to 1939, was named in his honor.[4]

See also

Sources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. Instead of Violence: Writings by the great advocates of peace and nonviolence throughout history.New York,Grossman Publishers, 1963.(p. 340-45).
  2. ↑ http://www.genealogycentral.net/index_files/Page608.html Genealogy Central
  3. ↑ Della Valle, Paul. Massachusetts Trobulemakers: Rebels, Reformers, and Radicals from the Bay State. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 2009: 140. ISBN 978-0-7627-4850-1
  4. ↑ Francis Marion West, ‘’Pioneer of the Cumberlands: A History of Burritt College’’ (master’s thesis, Tennessee Technological University, 1969). Accessed at ‘’Restoration History’’ website, 4 March 2015.

External links

Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Elihu Burritt.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elihu Burritt.