Sir Richard Phillips (13 December 1767 – 2 April 1840) was an English schoolteacher, author, publisher and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianis ...

activist.

Life

Phillips was born in London. Following some political difficulties in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

where he was a schoolteacher and

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of libra ...

(being imprisoned in 1792 for selling

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

's '' Rights of Man''), he returned to London, established premises in Paternoster Row, St. Paul's Churchyard, and founded '' The Monthly Magazine'' in 1796; its editor was Dr. John Aikin, and among its early contributors were fellow radicals

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosophy, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. God ...

and

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Rights of Ma ...

. He built up a prominent fortune based on the speculative commission of newly revised

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

s and their publication, in a competitive market that had been freed by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

' decision in 1777 to strike down the perpetual copyright asserted by a small group of London

s to standard introductory works. His ''Juvenile Library'' published in 1800–03 provided the steady returns of all successful

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

. By 1807 he was in sufficient standing to serve as a

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

, at which time he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

on the occasion of presenting an address. Another of the contributors to Phillips' ''Monthly Magazine'' was the Scottish novelist

John Galt John Galt () is a character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1957). Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover ...

. Angela Esterhammer has suggested that the character Masano, an irascible Italian printer in Galt's ''Andrew of Padua, the Improvisatore'' (1820), is based on Phillips. Phillips overextended himself and was declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in the Bank Panic. He died in

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and is buried in the western extension of St Nicholas' Churchyard. He was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

Vegetarianism

Phillips was a

.Forward, Charles W. (1898)
''Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England''
London: The Ideal Publishing Union. p. 8 He published Joseph Ritson's '' An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty'' in 1802. In the ''Medical Journal'' for July 27, 1811, Phillips listed sixteen reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet. His book ''Golden Rules of Social Philosophy'' (1814) contained the essay '' The Author's Reasons for not Eating Animal Food''.

Works

He was the author, under his own name, of ''On the Powers and Duties of Juries, and on the Criminal Laws of England'', 1811; ''A Morning's Walk from London to Kew'', 1817; ''A Personal Tour Through the United Kingdom'', 1828. Many of his further works were published under at least five

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

s including David Blair. His own political leanings, evinced in ''Golden Rules of Social Philosophy, Or, A New System of Practical Ethics'' (1826) encouraged him to publish works by the radical jobbing writer of educational texts, Jeremiah Joyce, though often under pseudonymous disguises; Rees and Britten asserted in their ''Reminiscences of Literary London'' that many works were written by Phillips and attributed to well-known writers, who oversaw the proofs and put their names to the manuscripts, for remuneration.Rees and Britten, p. 80. Joyce was the actual author of Gregory's ''Encyclopedia'' published by Phillips.
''Sir Richard Phillips's Reasons for Not Eating Animal Food, Or Any Thing that Has Enjoyed Sensitive Life''
(1814)
''Golden Rules of Social Philosophy, Or, A New System of Practical Ethics''
(1826)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Richard 1767 births 1840 deaths British vegetarianism activists English writers Knights Bachelor Publishers (people) from London Sheriffs of the City of London Teachers of English