Hunt, Henry (‘Orator’) (1773–1835)

British Radical politician who agitated for a wider franchise and the repeal of the Corn Laws. Born into an affluent farming family, he emerged as one of the best-known radical leaders in the agitation for parliamentary reform following the passage of the Corn Laws in 1815, largely due to his inflammatory rhetoric. His speech at St Peter's Field in Manchester on November 1819 caused the militia to intervene, charging the crowd in what became known as the Peterloo Massacre, and Hunt was imprisoned for three years 1820–23. He was elected member of parliament for Preston 1831–33.