Henry
Fawcett, the son of a draper, was born in Salisbury in 1833. While
studying at Cambridge University he
came under the influence of the radical political views of Jeremy
Bentham and John Stuart Mill. At the
age of twenty-five Fawcett was accidentally blinded by a shot from
his father's gun while the two men were out hunting.
This handicap did not stop Fawcett from being appointed Professor
of Political Economy at Cambridge University
in 1863. Two years later he was elected Liberal
MP for Brighton. Once in Parliament Fawcett
joined a group of Radicals led by John Stuart
Mill and Peter Alfred Taylor.
Fawcett, Mill and Taylor attempted to persuade the House
of Commons to grant women the vote. In the campaign for women's
suffrage, Fawcett met Elizabeth Garrett.
For a time it was thought that Fawcett would marry Elizabeth but she
decided to concentrate on her attempts to become a doctor. Henry later
became engaged to Millicent, Elizabeth's younger sister. Although
warned against marrying a disabled man, fourteen years her senior,
Millicent and married Henry Fawcett in 1867.
For the next few years Millicent Fawcett,
the future leader of the NUWSS, spent much
of her time assisting her husband in his work as a MP. However, Henry
Fawcett encouraged Millicent to continue her own career as a writer.
At first Millicent wrote articles for journals but later books such
as Political Economy for Beginners and Essays
and Lectures on Political Subjects were published.
In 1880
William Gladstone, leader
of the Liberal government, appointed
Fawcett as his Postmaster General. Fawcett, who introduced the parcel
post, postal orders and the sixpenny telegram, also used his power
as Postmaster General to start employing women medical officers. Fawcett
continued to argue for equal political rights for women and clashed
with Gladstone's over his refusal to give women the franchise in the
1884 Reform Act.
In the
summer of 1882 Fawcett was taken seriously ill with diphtheria and
although he gradually recovered, his political career had come to
an end. Henry
Fawcett,
severely weakened by his illness, died of pleurisy in 1884.
(1)
In his book, My Days and Dreams, Edward
Carpenter described how Henry Fawcett lost his sight.
Henry Fawcett was out
pheasant-shooting with his father. In a rather thick covert the father
fired at a bird, unknowing that his son was standing in the line of
fire. Two small shot struck the latter - one entering into each eye
- a strange and fatal chance. It was his father who told me that as
soon as Henry knew that he was permanently blinded he said "Well,
it shan't make any difference in my plans of life!" And certainly
it made very little.
As may be guessed from that, Fawcett was a man of astounding pluck
and vitality - a vitality which would have been almost overbearing
if it had not been tempered by extreme good nature - and his force
of character, combined with very democratic sympathies, enabled him
despite his blindness to do valuable work in Parliament and in connection
with the Post Office. The adoring gratitude of the father at the public
success of the son whom he had so badly crippled was most touching;
and he would follow his son about the country and attend his public
meetings for the mere pleasure of witnessing his success.
As Fawcett was member for Brighton - and my father lent his support
to his candidature - he, and Mrs. Fawcett, used frequently to dine
with us at Brunswick Square, and I saw a good deal of them both at
Brighton and Cambridge.
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