Albert Broadbent (17 February 1867 – 21 January 1912) was an English activist, writer, editor, publisher, lecturer, and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

. Broadbent was a prominent advocate of

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

. He served as Secretary of the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) is a British Registered charity in England, registered charity. It campaigns for dietary changes, licenses Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks for Vegetarianism, vegetarian and Veganism, v ...

and edited ''

The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) is a British registered charity. It campaigns for dietary changes, licenses Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks for vegetarian and vegan products, runs a cookery school and lottery, and or ...

'', 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 A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

, which preceded his death.

Biography

Early life

Albert Broadbent was born in

Hollingworth Hollingworth is a village in the Tameside district, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about 11 miles (19 km) east of Manchester, on the Derbyshire border near Hadfield. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and ...

, on 17 February 1867. He became a

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

at the age of 26, after hearing a speech by Richard Coad.

Vegetarianism activism

Participants in the 1st World Vegetarian Congress

Broadbent originally intended to pursue a commercial career, before joining the staff of the

in 1894 and becoming Secretary the following year. He was also the editor of the society's journal ''

''. Broadbent represented the society at International Congresses at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was an active member of the

Vegetarian Federal Union The Vegetarian Federal Union (VFU) was a British vegetarianism umbrella organisation founded in 1889, which operated until 1911. History In July 1889, a group of individuals from the London Vegetarian Society met and drew up plans to form what ...

and attended all their meetings from 1893. Broadbent lectured extensively on

and

dietetics A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ...

. He was also a reviser of vegetarian literature. In 1907, he published an abridged edition of Howard Williams' book ''

The Ethics of Diet ''The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-eating'' is an 1883 book by Howard Williams, on the history of vegetarianism. The book was influential on the development of the Victorian vegetarian movement. ...

''. Broadbent's 1902 book, ''Science in the Daily Meal'', argued that a

diet is capable of providing the body its highest state of physical development; Broadbent listed one hundred recipes free of

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the Chemical formula, formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the meta ...

. The book promoted the consumption of

plasmon In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light (an optical oscillation) consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quant ...

, but this food was controversial as not all vegetarians advocated its use. In 1903,

J. P. Sandlands John Poole Sandlands (1838 – 30 January 1915) was an English clergyman, naturopath and vegetarianism activist. Biography Sandlands was born in Dawley, Shropshire, one of the nine children of John Sandlands, a saddler, and Mary Ann his wife. ...

wrote a rebuttal to Broadbent's book entitled ''Science in the Daily Meal Criticised, or Plasmon Confounded''. Broadbent started vegetarian restaurants in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

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

, 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.

Other activities

Broadbent later became a

Bible Christian The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...

deacon and a lay preacher, serving in

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

, Unitarian, and

Labour Church The Labour Church was an organization intended to give expression to the religion of the labour movement. It had a Christian socialist outlook, specifically called theological socialism. History The first Labour Church was founded at Manchester in ...

es. Broadbent was a Fellow of the Statistical Society and the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

. 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.

Personal life and death

Broadbent married Christina, the daughter of William Harrison of Manchester, in 1892; they had one daughter. After experiencing a complete

, Broadbent died on 21 January 1912 at his home in Longsight, Manchester; he was buried in the Southern Cemetery on 25 January.

Selected publications

As author or editor

*''Forty Vegetarian Dinners'' (1900) *''Andrew Glendinning's Apple Tree Cookery Book and Guide to Rational Diet'' (Edited by Albert Broadbent, 1902)
Diet in Relation To the Problem of Poverty
(''Journal of the Sanitary Institute'', 1902)
Shall We Slay to Eat?
(''Good Health'', November 1902), pp. 537–538 *''Science in the Daily Meal'' (1902) *''The Vegetarian Textbook'' (Edited by Albert Broadbent, 1903) * ''The Building of the Body'' (1903) *''How to Keep Warm'' (1904)
''Fruits, Nuts and Vegetables: Their Use as Food and Medicine''
(1908) * ''Salads: Their Uses as Food & Medicine'' (1909)
Fifty Valuable Meatless Recipes
(''Physical Culture'', 1910) *''160 Meatless Recipes'' (1925)

''Broadbent Treasuries of Poets''

* ''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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadbent, Albert 1867 births 1912 deaths 19th-century English clergy 19th-century English educators 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century publishers (people) 20th-century English educators 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century publishers (people) Bible Christians English lecturers Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester Deacons English anti-vivisectionists English book editors English book publishers (people) English food writers English male non-fiction writers English publishers (people) English restaurateurs English vegetarianism activists Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society People associated with the Vegetarian Society People from Tameside (district) Vegetarian cookbook writers Vegetarianism writers English cookbook writers Writers from Greater Manchester