Who instigated the modern British Israelism doctrine about the lost ten tribes?

Les explains that the teaching of British Israelism, with its emphasis on the lost ten tribes, came about primarily from one great Bible preacher who is now gone. As near as Les can tell, this preacher more or less instigated the doctrine, taking the approach that the Northern Ten Kingdoms or tribes were taken captive into Syria and never came back tribally, hence the term 'Lost Ten Tribes.' Les challenges this, asserting that God did not lose track of them, and that many migrated south into Israel so that the Babylonians would take all twelve tribes captive, not just two.