Harriet Martineau (June 12, 1802 – June 27, 1876) was an English writer and philosopher, renowned in her day as a controversial journalist, political economist, abolitionist and life-long feminist. Martineau has also been called the first female sociologist and the first female journalist in England.
The sixth of eight children, Harriet Martineau was born in Norwich, England, where her father was a manufacturer. The family was of Huguenot extract...
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Harriet Martineau (June 12, 1802 – June 27, 1876) was an English writer and philosopher, renowned in her day as a controversial journalist, political economist, abolitionist and life-long feminist. Martineau has also been called the first female sociologist and the first female journalist in England.
The sixth of eight children, Harriet Martineau was born in Norwich, England, where her father was a manufacturer. The family was of Huguenot extraction and professed Unitarian views. Her brother, James Martineau, was a clergyman of some note in the tradition of the English Dissenters. The atmosphere of her home was industrious, intellectual and austere; she herself was clever, but weakly and unhappy; she had no sense of taste or smell, and moreover grew deaf while young, having to use an ear trumpet. At the age of sixteen the state of her health and nerves led to a prolonged visit to her father's sister, Mrs Kentish, who kept a school at Bristol. Here, in the companionship of amiable and...
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