In 1847 he was returned for Nottingham, and in 1848 he presided at a Chartist demonstration on Kennington Common, which caused great alarm (see Chartism).
On the 10th of April 1848, a day famous in the history of Chartism, Ruskin was married at Perth to Euphemia Chalmers Gray, a lady of great beauty, of a family long intimate with the Ruskins.
Their preparations excited general alarm, and on the invitation Chartism of the government no less than 170,000 special constables were sworn in to protect life and property against a rabble.