An English essayist, born in Halifax, Yorkshire; was trained for the Baptist ministry, and for 25 years officiated in various congregations, but met with little success; from 1817 he devoted himself solely to literature, and became a contributor to the Eclectic Review , for which he wrote no fewer than 184 articles; his best-known work is an "Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance," in which he advocates a system of national education (1770-1843).