H. W. Hobart
Henry William Hobart known as ‘Harry’ was a British socialist activist and trade unionist.
Born in Walworth, London, Hobart completed an apprenticeship as a compositor in 1869, and joined the London Society of Compositors elected several times to the executive. He worked in the temperance movement until 1884 and was a life abstainer. He came to prominence in the union, representing it on the London Trades Council. He was an active supporter of the new unionism movement, for example, assisting Ben Tillett in the early history of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union, and was an organiser of the London matchgirls strike of 1888.
In 1886, Hobart joined the Social Democratic Federation, and represented it at the International Workers Congresses of Paris, 1889. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in the London School Board election of 1894, in the St Pancras East constituency at the London County Council election, 1889, and in Salford South at the 1895 UK general election.
By all accounts, Harry Hobart was an accomplished orator, holding audiences spellbound with stories and SDF polemic. He remained a powerful speaker until an ear infection made public speaking impossible.
Hobart was a founder of the London Workman's Committee on Housing in 1898. In 1911, he was part of a committee which relaunched the Daily Herald, and he then became a frequent contributor to the paper.
By 1925, Hobart had retired.
He died suddenly from a heart attack on Thursday 18 September, 1941.
