The 19th century saw several notable characters. Lancashire dialect poet Edwin Waugh (1817–1890) was born and brought up in the town, as was Roger Fenton, noted as one of the first war photographers. The aristocrat and poet George Gordon Byron was Lord Byron of Rochdale. Rochdale has a proud liberal political heritage, as shown by such people as John Bright, one of the first Quakers to sit in the House of Commons; Samuel Bamford, the radical and writer; and Rev. Joseph Cooke, the inspiration behind the Methodist Unitarian movement. In the 20th century, another prominent (if now controversial) political personality was Cyril Smith.