Elihu Burritt

Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810 – March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.

Elihu Burritt was born December 8, 1810, in New Britain, Connecticut. He is a descendant of William and Elizabeth Burritt from Stratford, Connecticut. As an adult he was active in many causes, opposing slavery, working for temperance, and trying to achieve world peace. These accomplishments caused President Lincoln to appoint him as United States consul in Birmingham, England. He first trained as a blacksmith, and had "Learned Blacksmith" as a nickname.

Burritt was appointed United States consul in Birmingham by Abraham Lincoln in 1864 United States consul, a role that required him to report regularly on "facts bearing upon the productive capacities, industrial character and natural resources of communities embraced in their Consulate Districts" and as a result travelled widely from his home in Harborne, largely on foot, to explore the local area. Burritt's association with Birmingham dated back 20 years and he was highly sympathetic to the industrial and political culture of the town as well as being a friend many of its leading citizens, so his portrait of the surrounding area was largely positive. During his time in Birmingham he lived in Harborne, then a rural village of to the west of the city, in a house which he named New Britain Villas which was later home to another author Edward Chitham who also wrote a book on the Black Country. He was actively involved the local community, taking part in the committee for the rebuilding of the nearby St. Peter's Church.

During a trip abroad in 1846–47, he was touched by the suffering of the Irish peasantry. He also founded the peace organisation the League of Universal Brotherhood in 1846. He organized the first international congress of the Friends of Peace, which convened in Brussels in September 1848. A second "Peace Congress" met in Paris in 1849, presided over by Victor Hugo. Burritt attended the "Peace Congresses" at Frankfurt in 1850, London in 1851, Manchester in 1852 and Edinburgh in 1853. The outbreak of the Crimean War and the American Civil War jolted his views.

...
Wikipedia