Robert Peel Glanville Blatchford (17 March 1851 – 17 December 1943) was an English socialist campaigner, journalist, and author in the United Kingdom. He was also noted as a prominent atheist, nationalist, and opponent of eugenics. In the early 1920s, after the death of his wife, he turned towards spiritualism.
Early life
Blatchford was born 17 March 1851 in Maidstone, Kent. His parents, John Glanville Blatchford, a strolling comedian, and Georgina Louisa nee Corri 1821–1890), an actress – named him after the Conservative Prime Minister Robert Peel who died the year before. His maternal great-grandfather, Domenico Corri, (1746–1825), was an Italian musician and publisher who, in the late 18th century, moved from Rome to Edinburgh to teach music. One of his grandnieces, Christine Glanville (1924–1999), was an acclaimed English puppeteer.
Blatchford's father died in 1853, leaving him in the care of his mother. She continued her acting career for nine years, and Blatchford spent much of his early life close to the stage. To help support the family, Blatchford and his brother Montagu would perform with their mother, doing comedic renditions and dances for extra income. In 1862 the family moved to Halifax, where it was hoped that Blatchford and his brother could learn a trade. Blatchford was first employed as an odd job boy in a lithographic printing works, for which he earned a salary of eighteen pence a week. As a child he attended school only occasionally, firstly in Halifax and later in Portsmouth. In spite of the brevity of his educational experience, he called the education system a "cram" method.
