It was attended by a variety of British and foreign delegates, with co-operative activist (and author of Tom Brown's School Days) Thomas Hughes MP acting as its first president. Messages of support were read out from John Ruskin, John Stuart Mill and Florence Nightingale, who offered "any aid in my power to your Co-operative Congress, in whose objects I am deeply interested".
The gathering was attended by a diverse group of British and foreign delegates, with Thomas Hughes MP, the author of Tom Brown's School Days and a co-operative activist, serving as its first president. Messages of support were read from John Ruskin, John Stuart Mill, and Florence Nightingale, who expressed their interest in the Co-operative Congress' objectives.