| Description: | Abstract: The son of a shoemaker from Ashburton in Devon, was born on 9th December, 1790. Richard's father abandoned the family in 1794 and it was a struggle for his mother to look after her three children from the profits of the small shop that she ran in Ashburton. Richard received six years free education from the local Church of England school and learnt to read and write. At the age of twelve Richard left school and was apprenticed as a tinplateman in Plymouth. He would go on to become one of the many who led the fight for a free press. |
