William Carpenter (1797–1874)


William Carpenter was a 19th-century theological and political writer, journalist, and editor.

Early life

Carpenter was the son of a London tradesman. He received no formal schooling, but by self-study he learned to read and write, and taught himself several ancient and modern languages. At an early age he began working for a bookseller in Finsbury, first as an errand boy, and then as an apprentice.

Career

While at Finsbury, Carpenter became acquainted with the philologist William Greenfield, editor of Samuel Bagster the Elder's polyglot Bibles, and began co-editing Scripture Magazine, which they eventually expanded into the four-volume work Critica Biblica in 1824–1827. This employment allowed him to devote time to literary pursuits, and he began writing theological and general works, establishing himself as contributor to and editor of numerous periodicals. In 1830 he issued a series of Political Letters with which he attempted to defy the stamp duty on newspapers, but in May 1831 he was tried and convicted of evading the law and was imprisoned. While in prison, he edited a political magazine which was republished as Carpenter's Monthly Political Magazine in 1832. He became intensely involved in the cause of political reform, publishing numerous tracts and books on the subject through the late 1840s. He was a strong proponent of the Chartist movement and a friend of William Cobbett. He was also an active Freemason and contributor to the London Freemason magazine. He continued to publish scriptural works throughout his life, which were also popular in America. His The Israelites Found in the Anglo-Saxons was an early work on British Israelism. In his elderly years, he suffered from near total loss of sight.

Major works