George Odger
Encyclopedia
George Odger was a pioneer British trade unionist. He is best remembered as the head of the London Trades Council
during the period of formation of the Trades Union Congress
and as the first President of the First International
.
, Devon, and trained as a shoemaker. In his younger years, he was a Chartist
.
After travelling in search of work, he settled in London and joined the Ladies Shoemakers' Society. In 1859, he was a prominent supporter of the London builders' strike, and became a leading member of the London Trades Council
when it was founded the following year.
, a post he held for ten years. Unlike most of its other office holders, he continued to work in his trade.
Also in 1862, Odger became the Chairman of the Manhood Suffrage and Vote by Ballot Association. In 1863, he convinced The Bee-Hive to switch from supporting the Confederates
in the American Civil War
. He also attended a French international labour meeting, and the following year, became the first President of the International Workingmen's Association
.
Odger was associated with the Workman's Advocate, which became the publication of the international and the Reform League
, and from 1866–67 he was editor of the renamed Commonwealth. Also in 1866, he represented the London Trades Council at the first conferences the United Kingdom Alliance of Organised Trades, while in 1867, he joined the Conference of Amalgamated Trades.
Shortly after the Reform League's Hyde Park demonstration in 1867 Odger attended a private meeting of a dozen senior members of the League in which the French Revolutionary Gustave Paul Cluseret
proposed they start a Civil War in England. According to John Bedford Leno
, George Odger spoke out in support of Cluseret's proposal but this was misreported in the next days issue of The Times
. George Odger was in the minority of the League, which rejected the proposal overwhelmingly.
Odger resigned from the International in 1871 after disagreements with Karl Marx
. He remained active in the Trades Union Congress
(TUC), he was the Secretary of its Parliamentary Committee
, the post later to become the General Secretary, from 1872 to 1873.
Odger also stood as a Lib–Lab
candidate in Southwark
in the 1870 by-election and the 1874 UK general election. He also became a supporter of the Land and Labour League and was one of the more well-known figures in the short-lived republican movement of the late 1860s and early 1870s.
Henry James
wrote of the funeral: "The element of the grotesque was very noticeable to me in the most marked collection of the shabbier English types that I had seen since I came to London. The occasion of my seeing them was the funeral of Mr. George Odger, which befell some four or five weeks before the Easter period. Mr. George Odger, it will perhaps be remembered, was an English Radical agitator of humble origin, who had distinguished himself by a perverse desire to get into Parliament. He exercised, I believe, the useful profession of a shoemaker, and he knocked in vain at the door that opens but to the refined. But he was a useful and honourable man, and his own people gave him an honourable burial."
George Odger is buried in Brompton Cemetery
.
Odger Street on the John Burns
' Latchmere Estate in Battersea
is named after him.
London Trades Council
The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades Councils...
during the period of formation of the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
and as the first President of the First International
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
.
Early years
George Odger was born in RoboroughRoborough
Roborough is a village in the South Hams of Devon, England. It lies just outside the northern boundary of the city of Plymouth on the main road to Tavistock, and is a popular dormitory village....
, Devon, and trained as a shoemaker. In his younger years, he was a Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
.
After travelling in search of work, he settled in London and joined the Ladies Shoemakers' Society. In 1859, he was a prominent supporter of the London builders' strike, and became a leading member of the London Trades Council
London Trades Council
The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades Councils...
when it was founded the following year.
Political career
In 1862, Odger became the Secretary of the London Trades CouncilLondon Trades Council
The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades Councils...
, a post he held for ten years. Unlike most of its other office holders, he continued to work in his trade.
Also in 1862, Odger became the Chairman of the Manhood Suffrage and Vote by Ballot Association. In 1863, he convinced The Bee-Hive to switch from supporting the Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He also attended a French international labour meeting, and the following year, became the first President of the International Workingmen's Association
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
.
Odger was associated with the Workman's Advocate, which became the publication of the international and the Reform League
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the successful Reform Act 1867...
, and from 1866–67 he was editor of the renamed Commonwealth. Also in 1866, he represented the London Trades Council at the first conferences the United Kingdom Alliance of Organised Trades, while in 1867, he joined the Conference of Amalgamated Trades.
Shortly after the Reform League's Hyde Park demonstration in 1867 Odger attended a private meeting of a dozen senior members of the League in which the French Revolutionary Gustave Paul Cluseret
Gustave Paul Cluseret
Gustave Paul Cluseret was a French soldier and politician who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
proposed they start a Civil War in England. According to John Bedford Leno
John Bedford Leno
John Bedford Leno was a Chartist, Radical, Poet and printer who acted as a "bridge" between Chartism and early Labour movements, as well as between the working and ruling classes. He campaigned to give the vote to all common men and women, driven by a strong desire for "justice and freedom for all...
, George Odger spoke out in support of Cluseret's proposal but this was misreported in the next days issue of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. George Odger was in the minority of the League, which rejected the proposal overwhelmingly.
Odger resigned from the International in 1871 after disagreements with Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. He remained active in the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
(TUC), he was the Secretary of its Parliamentary Committee
General Secretary of the TUC
The General Secretary of the TUC is the chief permanent officer of the Trades Union Congress, and a major figurehead in the trade union movement in the United Kingdom....
, the post later to become the General Secretary, from 1872 to 1873.
Odger also stood as a Lib–Lab
Liberal-Labour (UK)
The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...
candidate in Southwark
Southwark (UK Parliament constituency)
Southwark was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Southwark district of South London. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the English Parliament from 1295 to 1707, to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in the 1870 by-election and the 1874 UK general election. He also became a supporter of the Land and Labour League and was one of the more well-known figures in the short-lived republican movement of the late 1860s and early 1870s.
Death and legacy
Odger died on 4 March 1877. He was remembered at the time of his death as a "good, clear writer and a fluent speaker. He was not what is called 'eloquent,' but he was better; he spoke with force, with effect, with a knowledge of his subject."Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
wrote of the funeral: "The element of the grotesque was very noticeable to me in the most marked collection of the shabbier English types that I had seen since I came to London. The occasion of my seeing them was the funeral of Mr. George Odger, which befell some four or five weeks before the Easter period. Mr. George Odger, it will perhaps be remembered, was an English Radical agitator of humble origin, who had distinguished himself by a perverse desire to get into Parliament. He exercised, I believe, the useful profession of a shoemaker, and he knocked in vain at the door that opens but to the refined. But he was a useful and honourable man, and his own people gave him an honourable burial."
George Odger is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
.
Odger Street on the John Burns
John Burns
John Elliot Burns was an English trade unionist and politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly associated with London politics. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was anti-alcohol and a keen sportsman...
' Latchmere Estate in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
is named after him.
Further reading
- Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. XIII, edited by Keith Gildart and David Howell, Basingstoke 2010, pp. 292–300.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- The Aftermath with Autobiography of the Author (John Bedford LenoJohn Bedford LenoJohn Bedford Leno was a Chartist, Radical, Poet and printer who acted as a "bridge" between Chartism and early Labour movements, as well as between the working and ruling classes. He campaigned to give the vote to all common men and women, driven by a strong desire for "justice and freedom for all...
published By Reeves & Turner, London 1892) - Henry James, "An English Easter" in "English Hours" first published 1905
- D. Mares: Die englischen Publikationsorgane der IAA. Zum Kontext der politischen Tätigkeit von Karl Marx, in: MEGA-Studien (1998), issue 2, 24-48.