Edward Baines (1774–1848)
| Edward Baines | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1774 Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, Lancashire |
| Died | 3 August 1848 |
| Occupation | Journalist, Politician |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte Talbot |
| Children |
Matthew Talbot Baines (1799–1860) Edward Baines Jnr. (1800–1890) Thomas Baines (1806–1881) Margaret Baines (d. 1891) Charlotte (1800-1890) |
Edward Baines (1774–1848) was the editor and proprietor of the Leeds Mercury, (which by his efforts he made the leading provincial paper in England), politician, and author of historical and geographic works of reference. On his death in 1848, the Leeds Intelligencer (a rival of the Mercury, and its political opponent for over forty years) described his as "one who has earned for himself an indisputable title to be numbered among the notable men of Leeds"
Of his character and physical appearance it remarked: "Mr Baines had great industry and perseverance, as well as patience and resolution; and with those he possessed pleasing manners and address, - that debonair and affable bearing, which conciliated even those who might have felt that they had reason to regard him as an enemy… In person he was of a firm well-built frame, rather above the average stature; his features were regular, his expression of countenance frank and agreeable; and he retained his personal comeliness as well as his vivacity and suavity of manners to the last"
Edward Baines was born in 1774 at Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, Lancashire. He was educated at Hawkshead Grammar School (where Wordsworth was a contemporary), and then in the lower school of the grammar school in Preston. He then became a weaver, but at the age of sixteen he was apprenticed for seven years to a printer in Preston. In the fifth year of his apprenticeship, he terminated it and moved to Leeds, where he finished his apprenticeship with the printer of the Leeds Mercury, one of two Leeds weekly newspapers. In later years, both Baines and his political opponents would have it that he arrived in Leeds with little more than the clothes on his back but on completion of his apprenticeship he set up his own printworks with the aid of a loan of £100 from his father. He became a member of the Leeds Reasoning Society (a discussion group which eschewed religious or political issues) and of the local subscription library. He became attracted to non-conformism, and after attending the chapels of both Unitarians and Congregationalists settled for the latter (although he did not formally become a member until 1840). (He married Charlotte Talbot in 1798; she and their children were also lifelong non-conformists, with the exception of the eldest son Matthew Talbot Baines who became an Anglican, and therefore was able to take a degree at Cambridge.)
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