Richard Cobden

Richard Cobden (June 3, 1804 – April 2, 1865) was an a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League.

Early years

Cobden was born at a farmhouse called Dunford, near Midhurst, in Sussex. His family had been resident in that neighbourhood for many generations, occupied partly in trade and partly in agriculture. His grandfather was a maltster in that town, an energetic and prosperous man who served as bailiff and chief magistrate, taking rather a notable part in county matters. His father, forsaking malting, took to farming. A poor business man, he died while Richard was a child.

Related Topics:
Midhurst - Sussex - Agriculture - Malt - Bailiff - Magistrate

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The family returned to Midhurst where Cobden attended a dame school and then Bowes Hall School in Teesdale, Yorkshire. When fifteen years of age he went to London to the warehouse business of his uncle Richard Ware Cole where he became a commercial traveller in muslin and calico. His relative, noting the lad's passionate addiction to study, solemnly warned him against indulging such a taste, as likely to prove a fatal obstacle to his success in commercial life. Cobden was undeterred and made good use of the library of the London Institution. When his uncle's business failed, he joined that of Partridge & Price, in Eastcheap, one of the partners being his uncle's former partner.

Related Topics:
Dame school - Bowes Hall School - Teesdale - Yorkshire - London - Muslin - Calico - London Institution - Eastcheap

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In 1828, Cobden set up his own business with Sheriff and Gillet, partly with capital from John Lewis, acting as London agents for Fort Brothers, Manchester calico printers. In 1831, the partners sought to lease a factory from Fort's at Sabden, near Clitheroe They had, however, insufficient capital between them. Cobden and his colleagues so impressed Fort's that they consented to retain a substantial proportion of the equity. The new firm proposered and soon had three establishments: Sabden, where the printing works were, and sales outlets in London and Manchester. The latter came under the direct management of Cobden, who, in 1832, settled there beginning a long association with the city. The success of this enterprise was decisive and rapid, and the "Cobden prints" soon became well known for their quality.

Related Topics:
1828 - John Lewis - Manchester - 1831 - Sabden - Clitheroe - Capital - 1832

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Had Cobden devoted all his energies to the business, he might soon have become very wealthy. His earnings in the business were typically £8,000 to £10,000 a year. However, his life-long habit of learning and enquiry absorbed much of his time. Writing under the byname Libra, he published many letters in the Manchester Times discussing commercial and economic questions.

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