Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
1 October -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of any Saint, page 527
Born in 1801, Ashley Cooper was first elected to the House
of Commons in 1826. In 1851, he succeeded his father as
Earl of Shaftesbury and sat in the House of Lords. His
service in parliament was marked from the beginning by a
desire to reform social abuses, an impulse which derived
from his strong Evangelical Anglican piety. He campaigned
successfully for measures to improve housing and also create
schools for the poor. He pioneered legislation on
conditions of employment, for example, in mines and
factories, particularly with respect to the protection of
children. He became the epitome of the Victorian Christian
philanthropist, working within the political system to
redress social evils. He died on this day in 1885.