Charles Bray
Charles Bray | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | philosopher |
| Nationality |  United Kingdom |
Charles Bray (January 31, 1811 – 1884) philosopher and reformer.
Life
Charles was a ribbon manufacturer and owned the Coventry Herald newspaper. He used his wealth in establishing nonsectarian public schools. Also bring about changes to all aspects of society and other philanthropic causes. He was a freethinker in religious matters and a progressive in politics.
Married to a lady called Cara. Charles Bray was one of eight children born. His father died in 1835 leaving all his children a very substantial inheritance.
The Bray's home 'Rosehill' in Coventry, was a haven for people who held and debated radical views. The people who visited at the Brays' house included Robert Owen, Herbert Spencer, Harriet Martineau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Through this society, people tended to have more liberal theologies and many cast doubt on the supernatural elements of Biblical stories.
He helped George Eliot at the start of her literary career.
As a leading light in the Coventry 'intelligentsia'. He helped to found The Coventry Labourers & Artisans Co-operative Society Circa 1840-60, which provided gardens for working men and a co-op store. Inspired by the cottage factories in Coventry, he drew up a plan for a small community based on the same system - squares of 3-400 houses, each with their own steam engine to provide power and would be surrounded by enough land for each house to have its own allotment.
Writings
- 1836 - The education of the body : an address to the working classes
- 1841 - The Philosophy of Necessity
- 1844 - An essay upon the union of agriculture and manufactures : and upon the organization of industry
- 1844 - An outline of the various social systems & communities which have been founded on the principle of co-operation
- 1857 - The industrial employment of women : being a comparison between the condition of the people in the watch trade in Coventry, in which women are not employed, and the people in the ribbon trade
- 1871 - A manual of anthropology, or, The Science of man
- 1872 - The Education of the Feelings: A Moral System, Revised and Abridged for Secular Schools
- 1879 - Psychological and ethical definitions on a physiological basis