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Albert Broadbent (vegetarian)

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For the football player, see Albert Broadbent.
The Reverend
Albert Broadbent
FSS FRHS
Broadbent, c. 1902
Born(1867-02-17)17 February 1867
Hollingworth, England
Died21 January 1912(1912-01-21) (aged 44)
Longsight, Manchester, England
Resting placeSouthern Cemetery, Manchester
Occupations
  • Activist
  • writer
  • editor
  • publisher
  • lecturer
  • restaurateur
Years active1895–1912
Spouse
Christina Harrison
​
(m. 1892)​
Children1
RelativesWilliam Harrison (father-in-law)
Signature

Albert Broadbent FSS FRHS (17 February 1867 – 21 January 1912) was an English activist, writer, editor, publisher, lecturer, and restaurateur. Broadbent was a prominent advocate of vegetarianism. He served as Secretary of the Vegetarian Society and edited The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review, playing a significant role in promoting vegetarianism on an international level. His work included extensive lecturing, producing publications advocating for a vegetarian diet, and the establishment of vegetarian restaurants aimed at improving women's social standing and providing affordable meals to poor people.

Broadbent died in 1912 after experiencing significant financial losses due to the failure of his restaurants. The financial strain contributed to a nervous breakdown, which preceded his death.

Biography

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Early life

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Albert Broadbent was born in Hollingworth, on 17 February 1867.[note 1] He became a vegetarian at the age of 26, after hearing a speech by Richard Coad.[3]

Vegetarianism activism

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Broadbent (centre) at the 1st World Vegetarian Congress in 1908

Broadbent originally intended to pursue a commercial career, before joining the staff of the Vegetarian Society in 1894 and becoming Secretary the following year.[3] He was also the editor of the society's journal The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review.[1]

Broadbent represented the society at International Congresses at Paris, Dresden, St. Louis, and London.[1] He was an active member of the Vegetarian Federal Union and attended all their meetings from 1893.[4]

Broadbent lectured extensively on vegetarianism and dietetics.[1] He was also a reviser of vegetarian literature.[3] In 1907, he published an abridged edition of Howard Williams' book The Ethics of Diet.[5]

Broadbent's 1902 book, Science in the Daily Meal, argued that a vegetarian diet is capable of providing the body its highest state of physical development; Broadbent listed one hundred recipes free of uric acid.[6] The book promoted the consumption of plasmon, but this food was controversial as not all vegetarians advocated its use. In 1903, J. P. Sandlands wrote a rebuttal to Broadbent's book entitled Science in the Daily Meal Criticised, or Plasmon Confounded.[7]

Broadbent started vegetarian restaurants in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Leicester, with the intention of bettering the social position of women, by providing them the opportunity to earn a living wage. The meals were also provided at a low price, so that poorer people would be able to access vegetarian meals; this enterprise ended in failure and, as result, Broadbent suffered a significant financial loss.[8]

Other activities

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Broadbent later became a Bible Christian deacon and a lay preacher, serving in Congregational, Unitarian, and Labour Churches.[3]

Broadbent was a Fellow of the Statistical Society and the Royal Horticultural Society.[1]

Broadbent published and edited a collection of poetry, titled the Broadbent Treasuries of Poets, made up of 14 books. He also edited and published six literary miniatures.[1]

Personal life and death

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Broadbent with his family

Broadbent married Christina, the daughter of William Harrison of Manchester,[1] in 1892;[9] they had one daughter.[10]

After experiencing a complete nervous breakdown,[8] Broadbent died on 21 January 1912 at his home in Longsight, Manchester; he was buried in the Southern Cemetery on 25 January.[11]

Selected publications

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As author or editor

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Broadbent Treasuries of Poets

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  • A Festus Treasury
  • A Treasury of Consolation
  • A Mackenzie Bell Treasury
  • A Treasury of Translations
  • An Emerson Treasury
  • A Treasury of Devotional Poems
  • A Brotherhood Treasury
  • A Whittier Treasury
  • A Treasury of Love
  • A Russell Lowell Treasury
  • A Norman Gale Treasury
  • A Wordsworth Treasury
  • A Longfellow Treasury
  • A Nature Treasury

Notes

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  1. ^ Who Was Who gives Broadbent's date of birth as 15 February 1867.[1] However, England & Wales Christening records give his actual date of his birth as the 17.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Broadbent, Albert". Who Was Who: A Companion to "Who's Who" Containing the Biographies of Those Who Died During the Period 1897-1916. London: A & C Black. 1920. p. 89. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via HathiTrust.
  2. ^ England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906
  3. ^ a b c d 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. p. 27. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Albert Broadbent". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  5. ^ "The Ethics of Diet by Howard Williams". London Quarterly Review. 6 (108): 18. 1907.
  6. ^ "Science in the Daily Meal by Albert Broadbent". Pharmaceutical Journal. 68: 483. 1902.
  7. ^ Addyman, Mary; Wood, Laura; Yiannitsaros, Christopher. (2017). Food, Drink, and the Written Word in Britain, 1820–1945. Routledge. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-8489-3610-2
  8. ^ a b Scott, WM. M. (1 May 1912). "Mr. Albert Broadbent—An Appreciation" (PDF). Good Health. 10 (5): 148.
  9. ^ "Marriages Mar 1892". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  10. ^ Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901.
  11. ^ "Deaths". Manchester Evening News. 22 January 1912. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com (subscription required).
  12. ^ McLaughlin, Terence (1979). If You Like It, Don't Eat it: Dietary Fads and Fancies. New York: Universe Books. p. 169. ISBN 0-87663-332-7. OCLC 5499827.

Further reading

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