James was born in Laugharne , Carmarthenshire , Wales , the son of Gelly John , a shoemaker . He went to the Laugharne charity school until his father died in 1802 after which he received instruction from a local clergyman , eventually mastering the classics , and acquiring proficiency in French , Italian , Spanish , Arabic and Persian . As James John , his baptismal name , he became involved in radical politics . Under the name of Julian Augustus St John he went to London , where he obtained the post of deputy editor of Richard Carlile 's radical newspaper '' The Republican '' . In 1819 , shortly after the Peterloo Massacre , Carlile was imprisoned and St. John briefly took over his role as editor
Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
James Augustus St. John