This Day in History: 1834-03-24

William Morris

is born on this day in 1834. A writer, artist and leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Morris was also a fierce critic of the industrial revolution, wishing, in his epic poem, The Earthly Paradise, that he could transform England from a grimy workshop into a garden. The poem begins with an admonition:

Forget six counties overhung with smoke /
Forget the snorting steam and piston stroke/
Forget the spreading of the hideous town/
Think rather of the pack-horse on the down/
And dream of London, small, and white and clean /
The clear Thames bordered by its gardens green …