Richard Carlile, radical journalist, was born #OnThisDay 1790. An important champion of the freedom of the press, Carlile was repeatedly imprisoned for publishing pamphlets, journals and newspapers at a time when the government tried to stamp out ‘seditious’ literature. [1/5] 
An eyewitness of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, Carlile published the first full report of what had happened in Sherwin’s Weekly Political Register. The government responded by closing the paper, so Carlile changed its name to The Republican. [2/5]
Carlile was then prosecuted for blasphemy, blasphemous libel and sedition for publishing Tom Paine’s works and material that might encourage people to hate the government. He was sentenced to 3 years in Dorchester Gaol; his wife, Jane, began to publish The Republican. [3/5]
*Jane* was then sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for seditious libel, and her place as publisher was taken by Richard’s sister, Mary...who was then sentenced for the same offence. In total, over 150 men and women were sent to prison for selling The Republican. [4/5]
Richard Carlile spent the rest of his life in and out of prison and in extreme poverty. All the while, he remained an determined advocate of numerous radical causes such as the abolition of the monarchy, secular education, universal suffrage, and the emancipation of women. [5/5]
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