Talk:Richard Cobden
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[edit] Knighted?
Was Cobden Knighted? I've seen him styled Sir Richard before, yet in this article it doesn't mention it. It might just be a family legend, come to think of it...
This encyclopedia entry demonstrates the dangers of relying on single or outdated sources. It replicates several errors concerning Cobden's early years that probably originated in Henry Ashworth's 1876 book on Cobden and the Anti-Corn Law League. For instance, Cobden's schooling took place at Bowes Hall in Yorkshire from 1814-19, not Midhurst Grammar School. According to John Morley's biography (which the original author of this piece cites but had clearly not read properly), Cobden attended a dame school in Midhurst before that date. Also, Cobden only went to work for Partridge and Price (neither of whom were related to him) after the failure of his uncle's business - the uncle being Richard Ware Cole. The account of Cobden's association with the Fort brothers is also misleading - Cobden, Sherriff and Gillett had been doing business for them since 1828.
- This being a wiki, I'd encourage you to edit the article to reflect current knowledge of Cobden. We strive to be as up-to-date as possible, but we're only as good as our contributors make us. - Hephaestos 14:11, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC)
There is a short article in The Economist about him - unfortunately, it is pay per view, so I am not sure if we should add this to the external links section? --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 19:53, 12 Jun 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Was he a councillor?
The article doesn't seem to mention him being a councillor (though he was a member of the privy council, which is different) though the article is in the category of Manchester councillors. The category is for "Local elected councillors, past and present, serving on the 'Manchester City Council'". Should he be removed from this category? Thanks. Thegraham 09:40, 9 July 2006 (UTC)
Actually Cobden was a member of Manchester's borough council from 1838, but was never a Privy Councillor. Palmerston offered him the latter position in 1861, but he declined in order to maintain his independence of the government. Similarly, he was never knighted, having also turned down a baronetcy. Full information can be found in the standard biographies of Cobden (Morley, Hinde and Edsall). SJM 17.16, 28 Sept 2006.
