James Simpson (Bible Christian)

English deacon and activist (1812–1859)

For other people named James Simpson, see James Simpson (disambiguation).

The Reverend

James Simpson

Portrait from Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)

Born| (1812-07-09)9 July 1812

Clitheroe, Lancashire, England

Died| 3 September 1859(1859-09-03) (aged 47)

Foxhill Bank, near Accrington, Lancashire, England

Burial place| St James' Church, Church Kirk, Lancashire, England
Occupation(s)| Deacon, activist
Known for| Vegetarianism activism
Title| President of the Vegetarian Society
Term| 1847–1849
Successor| William Harvey[1]
Spouse|

Hannah Harvey

(m. 1843)​

Children| 2
Relatives| William Harvey (father-in-law)

James Simpson JP (9 July 1812 – 2 September 1859) was a Bible Christian deacon and activist for a number of causes. He was active in the vegetarianism, temperance, anti-tobacco, anti-Corn Law and peace movements. Simpson co-founded and served as the first President of the Vegetarian Society.

## Biography

[edit]

### Early life and education

[edit]

James Simpson Jr. was born on 9 July 1812, in Clitheroe, Lancashire.[2] He was the son of James Simpson Sr.,[3] a wealthy calico printer.[4] Soon after his birth, his family moved to Foxhill Bank, near Accrington.[2] His family were members of the Bible Christian Church.[5]: 106

Simpson was educated by Rev. W. Wood at Hybrake House, Altham.[6] He also received a private education in London and Berlin, intended to pursue a career in law. However, his moral principles deterred him from pursuing this career. Following his father's death, he inherited a large fortune.[2]

### Career

[edit]

Actively engaged in public life, Simpson supported diverse social and political reforms. A member of the Anti-Corn Law League, he was also involved in the temperance movement during a time when such a choice was uncommon.[7] He served as Vice-President of the United Kingdom Alliance. Additionally, he was a prominent member of the Lancashire Liberal Party.[5]: 106 He was also a justice of the peace for the county palatine of Lancaster.[8]

Embracing the tenets of the Bible Christian Church and influenced by Swedenborg, Simpson maintained a lifelong commitment to vegetarianism, instilled by his mother.[7] He served as a deacon of the Church.[9]

Simpson helped form and was elected the first president of the Vegetarian Society in 1847.[10] His travels abroad led to the establishment of international vegetarian societies.[11] He also anonymously published two works on vegetarianism.[5]: 106

### Personal life and death

[edit]

Simpson married Hannah Harvey in 1843.[4] They had two children.[6] His father-in-law was William Harvey, who was Mayor of Salford from 1857 to 1859 and a prominent Bible Christian.[12]

Simpson died on 2 September 1859, at the age of 47.[8] He had suffered from a long illness for 18 months.[6] Simpson was buried at St James' Church, Church Kirk.[13] A 30 feet (9.1 m) high memorial obelisk was erected there.[5]: 106

## Legacy

[edit]

One of Simpson's lectures on vegetarianism inspired T. Anderson Hanson to become a vegetarian.[5]: 52

## Selected publications

[edit]

* The Products of the Vegetable Kingdom vs the Flesh of Animals as Food 'Part I' (London: Whittaker, 1847)
* A Few Recipes of Vegetable Diet with Suggestions for the Formation of a Dietary, from which the Flesh of Animals is Excluded... (London: Whittaker, 1847)
* A Letter to the Rt. Hon. H. Labouchere, on the more effective application of the system of relief by means of Soup Kitchens (London: Whittaker, 1847)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Antrobus, Derek. "History of Vegetarianism - William Harvey (1789-1870)". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
2. ^ a b c Couling, Samuel (1862). "Simpson, James". History of the Temperance Movement in Great Britain and Ireland: From the Earliest Date to the Present Time. London: W. Tweedie. p. 349.
3. ^ "Biography: Mary Rostron". Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
4. ^ a b "Biography: Mary Harvey". Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
5. ^ a b c d e Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF). Vol. 2\. University of Southampton. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
6. ^ a b c "Interment of the Remains of the Late Mr. Simpson". The Weekly Standard and Express. 14 September 1859. p. 3 - via Newspapers.com (subscription required).
7. ^ a b "The Vegetarian Movement in England 1847-1981". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
8. ^ a b "Died". Stockport Advertiser. 9 September 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 25 January 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "The Bible Christian Church (1809-1930)". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
10. ^ "History". Vegetarian Society. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
11. ^ "Veggie revolution was led by the North". Lancashire Telegraph. 8 January 1998. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
12. ^ "Biography: Mary Rostron". Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
13. ^ "Burials at St James in the Parish of Church Kirk". Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

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* The Animals Film (1981)
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* A Cow at My Table (1998)
* Meet Your Meat (2002)
* Post Punk Kitchen (2003–2005)
* Peaceable Kingdom (2004)
* Earthlings (2005)
* A Sacred Duty (2007)
* Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (2010)
* Planeat (2010)
* Forks Over Knives (2011)
* Vegucated (2011)
* Live and Let Live (2013)
* Cowspiracy (2014)
* PlantPure Nation (2015)
* What the Health (2017)
* Carnage (2017)
* Dominion (2018)
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* The Game Changers (2018)
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Magazines
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* The Animals' Agenda
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Books
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* On Abstinence from Eating Animals (3rd century)
* Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets (1699)
* The Fable of the Bees (1714)
* A Reasonable Plea for the Animal Creation (1746)
* Primitive Cookery (1767)
* The Cry of Nature (1791)
* An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty (1802)
* Vegetable Cookery (1812)
* A Vindication of Natural Diet (1813)
* Reasons for not Eating Animal Food (1814)
* Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824)
* Nature's Own Book (1835)
* Fruits and Farinacea (1845)
* "The Vegetarian; or a Visit to Aunt Primitive" (1847)
* The Penny Domestic Assistant and Guide to Vegetarian Cookery (1850)
* The Ethics of Diet (1883)
* A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays (1886)
* What is Vegetarianism? (1886)
* The First Step (1891)
* Shelley's Vegetarianism (1891)
* Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses (1892)
* Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895)
* Figs or Pigs? (1896)
* Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
* The Logic of Vegetarianism (1899)
* Thirty-nine Reasons Why I Am a Vegetarian (1903)
* The Meat Fetish (1904)
* The Apsley Cookery Book
* The New Ethics (1907)
* A Fleshless Diet (1910)
* The Benefits of Vegetarianism (1927)
* Living the Good Life (1954)
* Ten Talents (1968)
* Diet for a Small Planet (1971)
* The Vegetarian Epicure (1972)
* Moosewood Collective Cookbooks (1973)
* The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (1975)
* Laurel's Kitchen (1976)
* Moosewood Cookbook (1977)
* Fit for Life (1985)
* Diet for a New America (1987)
* The Sexual Politics of Meat (1990)
* Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (1997)
* The China Study (2005)
* Skinny Bitch (2005)
* Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
* The Bloodless Revolution (2006)
* Eating Animals (2009)
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* The Vegan Studies Project (2015)
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* Ben & Esther's Vegan Jewish Deli
* Cinnaholic
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* Vegaphobia
* Vegetarian and vegan dog diet
* Vegetarian and vegan symbolism

* v
* t
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Vegetarian Society

Presidents|

* James Simpson (1847–1849)
* William Harvey (1849–1870)
* James Haughton (1870–1873)
* Francis William Newman (1873–1884)
* John E. B. Mayor (1884–1910)
* William E. A. Axon (1911–1913)
* Ernest Bell (1914–1933)
* Peter Freeman (1937–1942)
* W. A. Sibly (1938–1959)
* Gordon Latto (1960–1987)
* Isobel Wilson (1987–1989)
* Kathy Silk
* Maxwell G. Lee

Vice-Presidents|

* Edwin Arnold
* Edmund J. Baillie
* T. H. Barker
* Thomas Baty
* Annie Bradshaw
* Helen Brotherton
* James Clark
* Edwin Collier
* C. H. Collyns
* John Davie
* George Dornbusch
* A. W. Duncan
* Charles W. Forward
* Peter Foxcroft
* T. Anderson Hanson
* Edward Hare
* William Hoyle
* A. O. Hume
* Anna Kingsford
* Lady Emily Lutyens
* Frank Merrick
* Edward Maitland
* John Malcolm
* Alfred Mansfield Mitchell
* W. J. Monk
* Thomas Owen
* Isaac Pitman
* Henry Stephens Salt
* Percy Scholes
* Dugald Semple
* Lady Mount Temple
* W. Gibson Ward
* Howard Williams

Staff|

* Henry B. Amos (secretary)
* Albert Broadbent (secretary)
* James Clark (treasurer)
* John Davie (secretary)
* William Harrison (treasurer)
* Joseph Knight (secretary)
* Mary Pope (cookery teacher)
* R. Bailey Walker (secretary)

Publications|

* The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger (1861–1897)
* A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays (1886)
* What is Vegetarianism? (1886)
* Shelley's Vegetarianism (1891)

Related groups|

* Alcott House
* Bible Christian Church
* London Food Reform Society
* London Vegetarian Society
* The Vegan Society
* Vegetarian Federal Union

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