Note: This article, from a 1904 publication, still didn't mention that birth control was the subject matter he was imprisoned for.... nmt:

" KNOWLTON, Charles, physician and author, was born in Templeton, Mass., in 1801; son of Stephen and — (Houghton) Knowlton. He was graduated at Dartmouth (N.H.) Medical School in 1823, and married Tabitha Foster Stuart, daughter of Richard Stuart, of Winchendon, Mass. He settled in Ashfield, Mass., and attained a high  reputation. He published Modern Materialism (1829), and in 1833 a small book entitled Fruits of Philosophy, presenting a remedy for the danger pointed out by John Malthus, and before him by Plato, Aristotle, Hume, and  Benjamin Franklin. This publication subjected Dr. Knowlton to severe criticism, and imprisonment for three  months. In 1876 Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh republished it, in England, with additions. Mr, Bradlaugh  was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and a fine of £200, but on appeal the penalties were remitted. Dr.  Knowlton died in Winchendon, Mass., in 1850."

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume VI

Here are web pages on Annie Besant, one of the original women liberators, which mentions she and her husband publishing the above work by Charles Knowlton:
 

Biography 1

Biography 2

 
See a rather complete and exhaustive treatment of the Knowlton "pamphlet",
the trials of Besant and Knowlton, and the pamphlet's effect on the
secular movement.

See a letter to Besant from Robert Ingersoll, after she was denied custody
of a child in an English Court case because of her political views.
 

 
 1   William "Captain" Knowlton 1584 - 1632
..  +Ann 1592 - 1653
.... 2   John Knowlton 1610 - 1653
........  +Margery [Wilson?] 1614 - 1655
........... 3   John Knowlton 1633 - 1684
...............  +Deborah Grant 1637 - 1666
.................. 4   Thomas Knowlton 1662 - 1750
..................  *2nd Wife of Thomas Knowlton:
......................  +Mary Coy 1688 -
........................ 5   Ezekiel Knowlton 1707 -
............................  +Susanna Morgan 1710 -
............................... 6   Ezekiel Knowlton 1736 -
...................................  +Anna Miles 1736 -
...................................... 7   Stephen Knowlton 1762 - 1853
......................................  *2nd Wife of Stephen Knowlton:
..........................................  +Houghton 1778 -
............................................ 8   Charles Knowlton 1800 - 1850
 

Marcus Perrin Knowlton - Judge

 KNOWLTON, Marcus Perrin, jurist, was born in Wilbraham, Mass., Feb. 3, 1839; son of Merrick and Fatima (Perrin) Knowlton; grandson of Amasa and Margaret (Toplift) Knowlton; and a descendant of William Knowlton, whose father, Capt. William Knowlton, sailed from London, England, for Nova Scotia, in 1633, and died on the voyage; and his widow with three sons, John, William and Thomas, after remaining awhile in Nova Scotia, removed to Ipswich, Mass. Marcus Perrin Knowlton prepared for college at Monson academy, Mass., and was graduated from Yale, A.B., 1860. He was admitted to the bar at Springfield, Mass., in 1869; was a representative in the general court of Massachusetts in 1878, and a state senator, 1880-81. In August, 1881, he was appointed a justice of the superior court of Massachusetts, and in September, 1887, was made a  justice of the supreme judicial court of the state. He was twice married: first, July 18, 1867, to Sophia Ritchie, who died, Feb.  18, 1886, leaving no children; and secondly, May 21, 1891, to Rose Mary Ladd, of Portland, Maine. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Yale university in 1895, and from Harvard university in 1900.

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume VI

See the biography of Captain Thomas and links to Nathan Hale and his role in spying for George Washington.
 

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