George Odger (1820-1877) was an official of the Ladies Shoemakers Society who, while still a working shoemaker himself, became the eloquent part-time secretary [1862-1872] of the London Trades Council. In 1862, he formed with Robert Applegarth the Manhood Suffrage and Vote by Ballot Association (which later merged into the Reform League) and stood unsuccessfully as a working class candidate several times in the 1860s. As representative of the Trades Council, he attended the meeting at St. Martin's Hall Long Acre, London on 28 September, 1864 at which the International Working Mens' Association (the first International) was formed and became its first president. In 1871, he acted as secretary to the Trades Union Congress.

Title	George Odger (1820-1877)
Maker	--
Production Date	1850-1880
Format	Engraving
Copyright	--
Holding Institution	TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
Related Objects	--