Henry John Williams
Henry John Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 8, 1838 Whatley, Mendip, England |
| Died | 1919 (aged 81) Aspley Guise, England |
| Occupation(s) | Priest, activist |
| Known for | Founding the Order of the Golden Age |
| Family | Howard Williams (brother) |
Henry John Williams (8 February 1838 – 1 April 1919) was an English Anglican priest and activist for humanitarianism, animal rights and vegetarianism. He was the founder of the Order of the Golden Age; an international animal rights society.
Biography
Henry John Williams was born on 8 February 1838 in Whatley, Mendip.[1] He was the son of Margaret Sophia and Hamilton John Williams,[1] an Anglican priest.[2] Williams had six brothers, including Howard Williams the author of The Ethics of Diet and a vegetarian and fellow humanitarian.[3][4]
At the age of 40, Williams was inspired by his brother to become a vegetarian.[5] He later published the pamphlet A Plea for a Broken Law, which made a case for vegetarianism from a theological point of view.[6] He founded an animal rights society, the Order of the Golden Age in 1881, it was constituted in 1882.[7] Due to a lack of funds, the organisation was inactive until 1895, when Williams, Sidney H. Beard and others met and discussed how to remedy its dormancy.[7] Williams wrote for the order's journal, The Herald of the Golden Age.[8][9]
Williams was rector of Kinross,[10] honorary president of the Scottish Vegetarian Society[11] and a member of the Humanitarian League's Humane Diet department.[3]
Williams died on 1 April 1919 in Aspley Guise,[1] at the age of 81; his brother published an obituary in the May 1919 edition of The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.[5]
Selected publications
- A Plea for a Broken Law
References
- ^ a b c "Descendants of Sydenham Williams of Herringstone". Heraldry Online. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ Preece, Rod (2011). Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 167–168. ISBN 9780774821124.
- ^ a b Grumett, David; Muers, Rachel, eds. (2011). Eating and Believing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Vegetarianism and Theology. London: A&C Black. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-567-57736-8.
- ^ Gregory, James. (2007). Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Tauris Academic Studies. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-84511-379-7
- ^ a b Williams, Howard (May 1919). "Rev. Henry John Williams (1838-1919)". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.
- ^ Williams, Howard (2003). The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-eating. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-252-07130-0.
- ^ a b Calvert, Samantha Jane (June 2012). Eden's Diet: Christianity and Vegetarianism 1809–2009 (PDF) (Thesis). University of Birmingham.
- ^ Williams, H. J. (January 1897). "Dark Ages, Past & Present". The Herald of the Golden Age.
- ^ Williams, H. J. (15 December 1900). "A Call to the Christian Church" (PDF). The Herald of the Golden Age. 5 (12): 143–144.
- ^ "Introduction – The Order of the Golden Age". The Vegetarian Messenger. October 1897. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Vegetarian Federal Union 1889-1911". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
