Early Life
George Julian Harney, the son of a seaman, was born in Deptford in south-east London. When Harney was eleven he entered the Boy's Naval School at Greenwich. However, instead of pursuing a career in the navy he became a shop-boy for Henry Hetherington, the editor of the Poor Man's Guardian. Harney was imprisoned three times for selling this unstamped newspaper.
This experience radicalised Harney and although he was initially a member of the London Working Men's Association he became impatient with the organization’s failure to make much progress in the efforts to obtain universal suffrage. Harney was influenced by the more militant ideas of William Benbow, James Bronterre O'Brien and Feargus O'Connor.
In January 1837 Harney became one of the founders of the openly republican East London Democratic Association. Soon afterwards Harney became convinced of William Benbow's theory that a Grand National Holiday (General Strike) would result in an uprising and a change in the political system.
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