Born on 9 March 1763 in Farnham, Surrey, England, William Cobbett became a self-educated essayist, journalist, politician, reformer and agriculturist.After a short stint in the British army, he soon faced prosecution in England for a pamphlet that condemned British army practices and that called for improved conditions. He sought refuge in the United States for what turned out to be an extended stay from October 1792 to January 1800.

However, Cobbett regarded the U.S. with ambivalence. To compensate for his lack of enthusiasm for this newly-formed country, he stirred up some notoriety in Philadelphia with radical journalism under the non de plume, Peter Porcupine. In pamphlet form, he delivered savage and sarcastic attacks directed at both individual Americans and at U.S. society in general. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a favorite target, and when Rush successfully sued Cobbett for libel, the pamphleteer returned to England.

Cobbett was found guilty of treasonous libel on 15 June 1810 after objecting in The Register to the flogging at Ely of local militiamen by Hanoverians. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment in infamous Newgate Prison. While in prison he wrote the pamphlet Paper against Gold, warning of the dangers of paper money, as well as many Essays and Letters. On his release a dinner in London, attended by 600 people, was given in his honour, presided over by Sir Francis Burdett who, like Cobbett, was a strong voice for parliamentary reform.

Once again, Cobbett was forced to cross the Atlantic in May 1817 during a British crackdown on radicalism and he remained in Philadelphia until October 1819.

Upon his return to England, Cobbett -- perhaps -- was surprised to learn that his unabashed agitation for a variety of causes (including the reform o fthe English political system) earned him a seat in the Reform Bill Parliament of 1832.

Cobbett, at times, is credited for revolutionizing journalism in the U.S. by encouraging political partisanship in the press. While he could be an outspoken advocate for U.S. rights, the only consistency he delivered was his sarcasm, politically harsh wit and divisiveness.He defended the British right of search in the Chesapeake-Leopard affair of 1807, but took the U.S. side in the President-Little Belt incident in 1811. During the War of 1812, he praised the success of U.S. frigates with pamphlets such as "The Queen of the Ocean Unqueened," and "The American Cock Boats."

Although a gifted writer with many causes under his belt, later generations have taken offence at some of Cobbett's supposedly anti-Semitic and racist views. In historical context, however, many regard Cobbett as an inherently conservative journalist who, angered by the corrupt British political establishment, became increasingly radical and sympathetic to anti-government ideals. He provides an alternate view of rural England during the Industrial Revolution, an era that did not sit well with Cobbett.

Cobbett died on 18 June 1835 in Guilford, England.