British economist and politician, born at Heyshott, Sussex in 1804. Nicknamed the "Apostle of Free Trade", he worked as a clerk and commercial traveller in London before settling in Manchester. After visiting the USA in 1835 he published two extremely influential pamphlets preaching free trade and non-interventionism. He became a Member of Parliament in 1841, mainly as a platform from which to continue his campaign against the Corn Laws (he was a founder member of the Anti-Corn-Law League). He died in London in 1865.