Northern Star (chartist newspaper)
Front page of The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, 1837
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| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | broadsheet (41 x 59 cm) |
| Owner(s) | Feargus O'Connor |
| Founder(s) | Feargus O'Connor |
| Founded | 18 November 1837 |
| Political alignment | Chartist |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1852 |
| Headquarters | Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK |
| City | Leeds |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Circulation | 80,000 (in 1839) |
| Free online archives | Nineteenth Century Serials Edition |
The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser was a chartist newspaper published in Britain between 1837 and 1852, and best known for advancing the reform issues articulated by proprietor Feargus O'Connor.
Feargus O'Connor, a former Irish MP forging a career in English radical politics, decided to establish a weekly newspaper in 1837. He based it in Yorkshire, one of the heartlands of the campaigns for an extension of the Factory Acts and against the controversial Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. He chose the name Northern Star in tribute to the newspaper of the Society of United Irishmen which was suppressed by the military in Belfast in 1797. Meetings were held in Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Hull; share capital was also raised from supporters in Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Rochdale. £690 was raised for the foundation of the Northern Star, which was first published on 18 November 1837.
The newspaper paid a stamp duty of 4d., despite O'Connor's protests that the tax restricted free speech. The Northern Star reported on chartist meetings throughout Britain and its letters page was host to lively debates on parliamentary reform. The paper led a campaign in support of the working class who suffered economically due to the introduction of new technology and falling wages (notably the handloom weavers). By September 1838 it had a circulation of 10,000, and by summer 1839 this had increased to 50,000, allowing O'Connor to make a personal profit of £13,000 by the end of the year. By the end of 1839, it had the second largest circulation in the United Kingdom.
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