10 Interesting William Morris Facts

William Morris was a British artist, writer and socialist who created beautiful designs that are still used today. He also founded the firm Morris & Co., which is known for its high-quality fabrics and wallpapers.

1. William Morris is known for his wallpaper and fabrics.

• William Morris was born in 1834, and he founded the company Morris & Co. in 1861.

• He was a poet, author, and translator who also co-founded the Social Democratic Federation in 1883.

• He strongly believed that workers should have a say in how they are treated by their employers; his ideas formed part of the foundation for what became known as socialism in Britain (and eventually spread worldwide).

• His father was an entrepreneur who pioneered a new type of textile printing process called “block printing”—this is where you apply ink or paint directly onto wood blocks instead of using fabric screens like traditional silk screening methods did at the time; this technique allowed them to produce large quantities quickly without being limited by screens' small sizes only being able to hold one color at once so designs had less detail than they could have otherwise had if other methods were used instead

2. He founded the firm Morris & Co. in 1861.\

In 1861, Morris founded the firm Morris & Co. with his close friend and colleague Edward Burne-Jones. The original name of their company was Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., but it was changed to Morris & Co. in 1861 when William moved into a new studio at Queen Square in Bloomsbury and invited Burne-Jones to join him there (Burne-Jones had previously worked for Dante Gabriel Rossetti).

Their first office was located in Oxford Street, London; however, they later moved from this location to Queen Square—a Georgian terrace off Great Ormond Street that’s now home to the Royal College of Surgeons.

3. He was a poet, author, and translator.

Morris was a prolific poet, author, and translator. He wrote poetry, novels, short stories and translations from the French language. He also wrote about political and social issues in his time.

While Morris' legacy is largely based on his contributions to the arts and crafts movement (see below for more), he also became well-known for his works of poetry that were heavily influenced by Dante’s Divine Comedy as well as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The well-known “The Earthly Paradise” series was written by Morris between 1868-70. This novel tells the story of four lovers who travel through different lands creating wondrous tales along their journey while searching for each other amidst wars and chaos.

4. He founded the Social Democratic Federation in 1883.

In 1883, Morris founded the Social Democratic Federation—a socialist party which aimed to overthrow capitalism. The organisation was a forerunner of the British Labour Party and it had been formed by several former members of the SLP following their expulsion from that party.

It was during this period that he began to take an interest in politics and he joined with Eleanor Marx, daughter of Karl Marx (the founder of Marxism), Edward Aveling and others in founding this group.

5. The British Labour Party was partly inspired by his ideas.

In 1900, the British Labour Party was founded. The party was inspired by the ideas of Morris and others and was originally called the Labour Representation Committee. The original purpose of this organization was to represent working class people in parliament. In 1906, its first MPs took their seats in Parliament and helped introduce some of the most important legislation affecting workers during the 20th century.

6. His father was an entrepreneur.

William Morris was born in 1834, the son of a manufacturer of carpets and an MP. His father was also a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which was founded by his friend John Ruskin. As you can see, William Morris had an interesting background!

7. He loved to read as a child and lent books out to friends and family members.

As a child, Morris was an avid reader. He read poetry, literature, history and science. He would lend books to his friends and family members. He continued to love reading as an adult and valued education greatly.

8. His brother died of tuberculosis when Morris was 17.

The death of his brother John, who succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 17, had a profound impact on Morris. John was an artist and undoubtedly the inspiration for many of Morris' designs. He was also a close friend to William and so deeply admired by him that he named one of his sons after him.

9. He was a socialist throughout most of his life.

Morris is best known for his work as a designer, artist and writer. However, he was also an important political activist who helped to shape the socialist movement in England during the 19th century. Morris was a member of several groups that were dedicated to promoting socialism; these included both trade unions and political parties such as the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) and Socialist League (SL).

10. He married Jane Burden in 1859. They had two daughters together - Jane Alice (known as Jenny), born in 1860, and May, born in 1862.

William Morris and his wife, Jane Burden, were happily married for ten years. However, they were unable to have any more children together. In 1863, their daughter Jenny died of scarlet fever and the couple's grief was tremendous. Even though it was a devastating time for them both, they still found ways to celebrate their love for each other and keep moving forward after losing such an important member of their family.

Morris designed St James' Church in Whitechapel, London which opened up in 1866. It's now known as All Saints Church as it's part of the United Benefice of Bow and Bromley-by-Bow with All Saints, St Mary Stratford Bow, and St Mary of Eton Hackney Wick with St Augustine Old Ford / Fish Island.

The church is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and was designed by William Morris. It was opened to the public in 1866, but it was originally named St James' Church. The church is also known as All Saints Church as it's part of the United Benefice of Bow and Bromley-by-Bow with All Saints, St Mary Stratford Bow, and St Mary of Eton Hackney Wick with St Augustine Old Ford / Fish Island.

William Morris was an invaluable member of society who became well known for his contributions to art and design

William Morris was an invaluable member of society who became well known for his contributions to art and design. He was a well-known designer, socialist, poet, author and translator. He founded the firm Morris & Co. in 1861 and it remained one of Britain's most successful firms until it closed in 1932.

In addition to his artistic prowess he also had a deep interest in politics which led him to become involved with the Socialist League from 1884 until its demise ten years later.

William Morris was a prolific writer who wrote more than 50 books including The Defence of Guenevere, News From Nowhere: Or An Epoch of Rest: Being Some Chapters From A Utopian Romance and The Life And Death Of Jason (An Ancient Greek Romance).

Conclusion

William Morris was an invaluable member of society who became well known for his contributions to art and design. He founded the firm Morris & Co. in 1861 and was a poet, author and translator as well as an activist with socialist leanings. He founded the Social Democratic Federation in 1883 and his ideas later inspired the British Labour Party. His father was an entrepreneur who started out selling goods door-to-door before moving into clothing retailing which led him to open stores in London's East End area where William would spend time with other children exploring workshops near their home so they could learn how things were made there too!