2-637-002 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Cobbett's Birthplace, Farnham', 1911, (1914). William Cobbett (1763-1835), Pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, born in Farnham, Surrey. Cobbett successfully campaigned for the Representation of the People Act 1832, the Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities and removed seats from smaller corrupt boroughs. The Act also increased the electorate from 500,000 to 813,000 which allowed about one out of five adult males to vote. From A Pilgrimage In Surrey, Vol. 1, by James S. Ogilvy. [George Routledge & Sons Limited, London, 1914]