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Elihu Burritt (December 8, 1810 – March 6, 1879) was an American diplomat, philanthropist and social activist.〔Arthur Weinberg and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. ''Instead of Violence: Writings by the great advocates of peace and nonviolence throughout history''.New York,Grossman Publishers, 1963.(p. 340-45).〕 ==Biography== Elihu Burritt was born December 8, 1810, in the town of New Britain, Connecticut. He is a descendant of William and Elizabeth Burritt from Stratford, Connecticut.〔http://www.genealogycentral.net/index_files/Page608.html Genealogy Central〕 As an adult he was active in many causes, opposing slavery, working for temperance, and trying to achieve world peace. These accomplishments caused President Lincoln to appoint him as United States consul in Birmingham, England. He first trained as a blacksmith, and had "Learned Blacksmith" as a nickname. During his time in Birmingham he lived in Harborne, then a rural village of to the west of the city, in a house which he named New Britain Villas. He was actively involved the local community, taking part in the committee for the rebuilding of the nearby St. Peter's Church. During a trip abroad in 1846–47, he was touched by the suffering of the Irish peasantry. He also founded the peace organisation the League of Universal Brotherhood in 1846.〔 He organized the first international congress of the Friends of Peace, which convened in Brussels in September 1848.〔 A second "Peace Congress" met in Paris in 1849, presided over by Victor Hugo. Burritt attended the "Peace Congresses" at Frankfurt in 1850, London in 1851, Manchester in 1852 and Edinburgh in 1853. The outbreak of the Crimean War and the American Civil War jolted his views. Burritt advocated that Britain, which introduced the uniform penny post in 1840, should introduce an international "ocean penny post" and reduce the cost from one shilling (12 pence) to threepence. He argued this would increase international correspondence, trade, and hence universal brotherhood. He urged the use of illustrated propaganda envelopes. Postal rates were gradually reduced, but his objective was not entirely achieved in his lifetime. Elihu Burritt died on March 6, 1879 in New Britain, Connecticut. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elihu Burritt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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