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Description: | Bronze portrait statue of Robert Owen extending his hand to a crouching child. On white granite pedestal which is placed on a brick base. Additional Information: Robert Owen, the son of a saddler and ironmonger from Newtown in Wales, was born on 14 May 1771. After spending three years in Stamford, Owen moved to work in a drapers in London. This job lasted until 1787 when Owen, now aged sixteen, found work at a large drapery business in Manchester. He soon became involved in the new cotton spinning industry becoming manager of the Bank Top cotton mill, Piccadilly, and later a partner in the larger Chorlton Mills. He became friends with David Dale, owner of one of largest cotton-spinning businesses in Britain. In 1799 Owen married Dale's daughter, Caroline. With the financial support of several businessmen from Manchester, Owen purchased Dale's textile factories in New Lanark, near Glasgow. At New Lanark he began to put into action his belief that the creation of the right working and community environment could produce rational, good and humane people. New Lanark became the model of other co-operative communities in Britain and the United States. Owen's social and moral philosophy were expounded in his writings including A New View of Society (1813). He wrote widely on the subjects of co-operation, education and trade unionism. In 1815 Owen sent detailed proposals to Parliament about his ideas on factory reform. Many of his schemes such as the National Equitable Labour Exchange (1832) and the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (1834) were considered failures, their underlying principles continued to shape political thought. Although disillusioned with the failure of most of his political campaigns, Owen continued to work for his 'new moral order' until his death on 17th November, 1858. He was buried in his native town of Newtown. | Subjects: | Sculpture | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Sculptor: Bayes, Gilbert | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=7557... | Go to resource |
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