The Learned Blacksmith

On this day one hundred and thirty-nine years ago, a former blacksmith who shed lustre upon ordinary pursuits by the superior manner in which he exercised them, passed away. He was Elihu Burritt, an American author, philanthropist, pacifist, social activist, visionary, and an ordinary common man. Yet he was also, in his own unique and modest way, a great leader of the ages.

He was born in New Britain, Connecticut, United States of America on December 8, 1810, the youngest son of ten children. As a child he was an excellent student, but due to his father’s death, he was forced to leave school at the age of fifteen and apprentice himself to a local blacksmith. However, he continued to educate himself while working at the blacksmith’s craft. In 1837, following the failure of his family's grocery business, Burritt left New Britain for Boston, where he continued to work as a blacksmith. While there, he learned about the American Antiquarian Society's library in Worcester, and spent several years there studying the Society’s famous collection in his spare time. It was there that he became interested in humanitarian causes that were later to make him famous, such as the abolition of slavery, the dignity of the American working man and the cause of world peace. In 1842, this led him to establish the 'Christian Citizen' at Worcester, which was a weekly journal devoted to the causes of slavery abolition, peace, temperance and self-improvement.

Burritt had an amazing aptitude for languages and was able to master them quickly, a feat which earned him the title “Learned Blacksmith”. By the time he was aged thirty, he could read and understand more than fifty languages. This led to him being offered a chance to study at Harvard, but he declined, saying his place was with the common people.

Burritt was an advocate of pacifism and put out a number of publications on behalf of world peace. While visiting England in 1847, he organised the League of Universal Brotherhood, which was a forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN. In 1847, he was instrumental in organising the first Peace Congress in Brussels and took part in two following Congresses in 1849 and 1850. Burritt also campaigned for a standard international postage rate, believing that it would increase correspondence between nations and thus promote peace. He was opposed to slavery in the United States and worked towards its abolition. During this time, he was a sought-after lecturer, where he spoke to large audiences in England on behalf of the League of Universal Brotherhood, which resulted in thousands of people supporting its cause. Although he had no formal education to speak of, Burritt was the author of over thirty seven books and articles, and many pamphlets and publications devoted to the subject of world peace.

President Abraham Lincoln appointed him as a US Consul to Birmingham, England, in 1865. In 1870, Burritt returned home to New Britain. In 1871 he designed the official city seal of New Britain, which is still in use today. He continued to farm, teach, lecture, and write until his death on March 6, 1879, at the age of 68. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in New Britain. Burritt Street, which is located on Burritt Hill where his farm once stood, is named after him, as well as the Elihu Burritt Library on the campus of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

This is the seal of the City of New Britain, designed by Elihu Burritt. The Latin motto reads: 'Industry fills the hive and enjoys the honey.'

Elihu Burritt, 1810-1879

Lest we forget the good and the great.