Richard Carlile was a radical in Victorian England who fought for the establishment of universal suffrage and freedom of press. He grew up with a single mother in London, becoming a tinsmith in 1813. After the economic depression of 1817, he became a salesman for two radical papers and quickly gained control over one of the printing presses. Carlile then published quite a few radical writings. In 1819, he was tried for publishing an account of the Peterloo Massacre. He was accused of blasphemy, blasphemous libel, and sedition and was sentenced to three years in prison and was heavily fined. His sentence was extended to six years when he did pay his fine. However, the government did not attempt to stop his publication, so Carlile continued to publish his newspaper from prison. 

John Stuart Mill mentions Carlile in his Autobiography: “The prosecutions of Richard Carlile and his wife and sister for publications hostile to Christianity, were then exciting much attention, and nowhere more than among the people I frequented” (Mill, page 82). Inspired by Carlile and the lack of freedom of speech and discussion in England, Mill went on to publish multiple essays in political reviews in his young life. 

SOURCES

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Carlile

https://spartacus-educational.com/PRcarlile.htm

https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/item/14696-richard-carlile

https://www.secularism.org.uk/richard-carlile.html