William
Gaskell
was born at Latchford, near Warrington, on 24th July 1805. Born into
a staunch Nonconformist family,
he was educated in Glasgow and York.
A divinity student, he joined John
Gooch Robberds, the minister of the Unitarian
Chapel in Manchester, in August
1828. Gaskell met Elizabeth Stevenson,
the daughter of John Stevenson, a former Unitarian minister. The couple
had similar ideas on religion and social reform and were married on
30th August, 1832.
Most of William Gaskell's parishioners were textile workers and Elizabeth
was deeply shocked by the poverty she witnessed in Manchester.
Later, Elizabeth wrote a novel, Mary
Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life that attempted
to illustrate the problems faced by people living in industrial towns
and cities. As a result of this book and other novels such as Cranford
and North and South,
Elizabeth Gaskell became one of Britain's
most popular novelists.
William
Gaskell had a tremendous influence on the people of Manchester.
An outstanding lecturer, he was appointed professor of English history
and literature at Manchester New College in 1846.
He was also responsible for establishing evening classes at Owens
College and from 1858 taught at the Working
Man's College in Manchester. From
1861 to 1875 Gaskell was also editor of the Unitarian
Herald.
Gaskell was a preacher for the British
and Foreign Unitarian Association and in 1876 became principal of
the Unitarian Missionary Board. Gaskell
also wrote several pamphlets
and hymns. William
Gaskell
died in Manchester on 11th June, 1884.
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