Benjamin Flower was an English radical journalist and political writer, a vocal opponent of his country's involvement in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

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Life

He was born in London, the son of a prosperous tradesman, and succeeded to a share in his business. Through speculations, described in his Statement of Facts, he lost money, and in 1785 accepted an engagement to travel in business on the Continent for half the year, spending the other half in the service of a firm at Tiverton. He visited the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, and spent six months in France in 1791. He then wrote a work on the French constitution (1792), in fact a loose attack on the alleged defects of the English one.

He was made editor of the Cambridge Intelligencer, which his brother Richard, a farmer and staunch liberal, had a considerable share in establishing. It was almost the only provincial newspaper in the country which denounced the war with France, and advocated the removal of the grievances of the Dissenters on the broad grounds of religious liberty. Flower's hostility to the war was again expressed in National Sins Considered (1796). In 1799 he was summoned before the House of Lords for an alleged libel on Bishop Richard Watson

Richard Watson (bishop)

Rt Rev Richard Watson was an Anglican clergyman and academic, who served as the Bishop of Llandaff from 1782 to 1816. He wrote some notable political pamphlets....

, whose political conduct he had censured. After a short hearing he was adjudged guilty of a breach of privilege, and sentenced to six months in Newgate Prison

Newgate Prison

Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...

 and a fine. Flower's attempts to obtain revision of the proceedings by application to the court of king's bench were unsuccessful.

He was visited in prison by Eliza Gould, who had herself suffered for her liberal opinions. Shortly after his release he married her, and, giving up his newspaper, established himself in business as a printer at Harlow

Harlow

Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. He printed the works of Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson (hymnist)

Robert Robinson was a determined English Dissenter, an influential Baptist and scholar who made a life-long study of the antiquity and history of Christian Baptism. He was also author of the hymns "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and "Mighty God, while angels bless Thee," the former of which...

, and carried on a monthly magazine, entitled The Political Register, from 1807 to 1811. His other publications were the Life of Robinson accompanying the works, a preface to his brother Richard's Letters from Illinois, and some pamphlets on family affairs. In his last years he retired to Dalston

Dalston

Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...

, where he died on 17 February 1829. An advocate of the French republic, he was not a republican at home, and in religion he was a conservative Unitarian

Unitarianism

Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....

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Family

His wife died in 1810, leaving him two daughters, Sarah Flower Adams and Eliza Flower

Eliza Flower

Eliza Flower was a British musician and composer. In addition to her own work, Flower became known for her friendships including those with William Johnson Fox, Robert Browning, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor.-Biography:...

. Edward Fordham Flower

Edward Fordham Flower

Edward Fordham Flower , was an English author, brewer, banker, agriculturist, and breeder of sheep.He was born at Marden Hall, Hertfordshire, on 31 January 1805, the younger son of Richard Flower. Benjamin Flower was his uncle....

 was his nephew, son of his brother Richard Flower who was a founder of Albion, Illinois

Albion, Illinois

Albion is a city in Edwards County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,933 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Edwards County. It is the home of the most pig farmers per square mile of all of the US counties.-Geography:...

; Edward left the USA because of his abolitionist views and became known as a brewer and local politician.