Feargus Edward O'Connor
(1796?-1855), Chartist leaderSitter in 5 portraits
O'Connor was Chartism's only truly national leader. This was due in no small part to his proprietorship of the Northern Star. The paper's popularity enabled him to dominate the movement and present an aggressive 'physical force' agenda. In 1847 he was returned as MP for Nottingham, Chartism's first and only MP. The following year he presented the final national petition to Parliament, preceded by a mass demonstration at Kennington Common. After the petition's rejection Chartism entered a terminal decline. O'Connor spent his final years in a mental asylum but his funeral was attended by 50,000 mourners.
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