Richard Cobden

Cobden, Richard (1804–65), British politician and reformer, leader of the Manchester School. A textile merchant, he was known as “the Apostle of Free Trade.” With John Bright and Robert Peel, he founded the Anti-Corn-Law League (1838–39), and was its chief spokesman in Parliament (1841–46). In 2 pamphlets, England, Ireland, and America (1835) and Russia (1836), he surveyed international relations and argued against British interventionist policies.