![Cobden, pencil sketch by V. Manzano; in the West Sussex Record Office (Cobden Papers 762) [Credit: Courtesy of the Governors of Dunford and the County Archivist of West Sussex]](http://images.bookrags.com/images/eb/12798.gif)
Cobden, pencil sketch by V. Manzano; in the West Sussex Record Office (Cobden Papers 762) [Credit: Courtesy of the Governors of Dunford and the County Archivist of West Sussex](born June 3, 1804, Dunford Farm, near Midhurst, Sussex, Eng.—died April 2, 1865, London) British politician.
He gained an independent fortune in the calico wholesale business. After travel to study trade policies in Europe and the U.S., he wrote pamphlets on international free trade. He was elected to Parliament (1841–57, 1859–65) and, with his close associate, John Bright, successfully fought to repeal the Corn Laws. In the 1850s he argued for friendly relations with Russia, even after the Crimean War had begun. He helped negotiate a commercial treaty with France (1860) that included a most-favoured-nation clause later duplicated in other treaties.
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