George Thorndike Angell

Detail of monument to George Thorndike Angell in the Financial District, Boston, Massachusetts

George Thorndike Angell (June 5, 1823Template:SndMarch 16, 1909) was an American lawyer, philanthropist, and activist. He advocated for animal welfare, founding and serving as president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He also championed public health reform and opposed food adulteration.

Biography

George Thorndike Angell was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1846, studied law at the Harvard Law School, and in 1851 was admitted to the bar in Boston, where he practiced for many years.<ref name="EB1911">{{#if: |

   |{{#ifeq: Angell, George Thorndike |
                |{{#ifeq: |
                             |
                             |
                           }}
                |
               }}
  }}{{#ifeq:  |
   |{{#ifeq: y |
                                    |This article
                                    |One or more of the preceding sentences
                                   }} incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
  }}{{#invoke:template wrapper|{{#if:|list|wrap}}|_template=cite EB1911
   |_exclude=footnote, inline, noicon, no-icon, noprescript, no-prescript, _debug

   | noicon=1
  }}{{#ifeq:  ||}}</ref>

While attending horse races in 1866 he witnessed two horses being run to death. Motivated by this incident and inspired by the work of Henry Bergh in New York, his advocacy for the humane treatment of animals became a lifelong passion.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1868 Angell founded and became president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in the same year establishing and becoming editor of Our Dumb Animals, a journal for the promotion of organized effort in securing the humane treatment of animals. For many years he was active in the organization of humane societies in England and America.<ref name="EB1911" />

In 1882, Angell and the Rev. Thomas Timmins initiated the movement to establish Bands of Mercy (for the promotion of humane treatment of animals), of which in 1908 there were more than 72,000 chapters in active existence. In 1889 he founded and became president of the American Humane Education Society.<ref name="EB1911" />

Angell also became well known as an advocate of laws for the safeguarding of the public health and against food adulteration.<ref name="EB1911" />

Death

After suffering from failing health for a long time, Angell died at his apartments at the Hotel Westminster in Boston on March 16, 1909, at the age of 85.<ref name=":0" /> He is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery, between Cambridge and Watertown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Selected publications

• Cattle Transportation in the United States (1872)
• The Check-Rein (1872)
• Protection of Animals (1874)
• Autobiographical Sketches and Personal Recollections (1882)

External links

• Template:Cite BDA1906