Cornelius Prout Newcombe (5 September 1825 – 30 July 1913) was an English businessperson, educator, and 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 ...

and

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vega ...

, and temperance. Newcombe's career began in business with a partnership in insurance and shipbuilding, which collapsed in 1854, leading him to become a

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

. He founded Alexandra Park College in

Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...

and later worked as a headmaster in New Zealand before returning to England. Newcombe believed in the health benefits of a strict vegetarian diet and organised a meeting of vegetarian octogenarians. He edited 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 ...

's journal '' The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review'', published ''The Manifesto of Vegetarianism'', and was critical of consuming

animal products Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hol ...

. Newcombe also contributed to temperance literature. After his death, he was commemorated by the Vegetarian Society with a memorial essay competition.

Biography

Early life and career

Cornelius Prout Newcombe was born on 5 September 1825 in St Luke's,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He was the second son of Frederick Newcombe, a butcher, and Hannah Prout. Newcombe was related to notable figures, including his uncle, the painter

Samuel Prout Samuel Prout painted by John Jackson in 1831 Market Day by Samuel Prout A View in Nuremberg by Samuel Prout Utrecht Town Hall by Samuel Prout in 1841 Samuel Prout (; 17 September 1783 – 10 February 1852) was a British watercolourist, and ...

; his cousin, the musical theorist

Ebenezer Prout Ebenezer Prout (1 March 1835 – 5 December 1909) was an English musical theorist, writer, music teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works still used today, underpinned the work of many British cl ...

; and his niece, the artist and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

Bertha Newcombe. In 1848, Newcombe married Caroline Tunnicliff in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. The couple had four children. In the early 1850s, he formed a business partnership, Griffiths, Newcombe, & Co., an insurance brokerage and shipbuilding company. However, the company collapsed in 1854, leading Newcombe to become a

. In 1858, after Caroline's death, Newcombe married Mary Kirk. In 1868, he founded Alexandra Park College in

. Later in his career, Newcombe moved to New Zealand, where he served as the head of various schools. He returned to England around 1895 and continued working as a

head teacher A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management Management (or managing ...

Later life and activism

Newcombe was a staunch advocate of

, claiming that humans were naturally vegetarian and that cancer could be cured by a strict vegetarian diet. At the age of 80, in 1905, he organised and presided over a meeting of fellow vegetarian octogenarians in London. Speakers included Newcombe, Joseph Wallace,

T. A. Hanson Thomas Anderson Hanson (20 June 1819 – 21 April 1912) was an English merchant and activist. He initially worked for his father's Stuff merchants, stuff merchant firm, George Hanson and Sons, before establishing his own company, T. A. Hanson a ...

, John E. B. Mayor, Samuel Saunders, and Samuel Pitman, brother of

Isaac Pitman Sir Isaac Pitman (4 January 1813 – 22 January 1897) was an English publisher and teacher of the :English language who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in ''Stenogr ...

. In 1906, he sought funding for a Fruitarian Cancer Hospital. In 1911, Newcombe published ''The Manifesto of Vegetarianism'', dedicated to John E. B. Mayor, Joseph Wallace, and Albert Broadbent. He also edited '' The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review'', the journal of the

. In 1912, he wrote in the journal about the division within the vegetarian community between those who consumed

and those who did not. Newcombe opened up the discussion to letters arguing for each side, receiving 24 responses. He was critical of the defences presented for consuming eggs and milk, instead arguing for a diet consisting solely of cereals, pulses, fruit, nuts, and vegetables. Newcombe also created and edited a temperance publication, ''The Temperance Gazette'', published by

William Horsell William Horsell (31 March 1807 – 23 December 1863) was an English hydrotherapist, publisher, and temperance and vegetarianism activist. Horsell published the first vegan cookbook in 1849. Biography William Horsell was born in Brinkworth, W ...

, and was a member of the National Temperance Association.

Death and legacy

Newcombe died on 30 July 1913 at the age of 87 in Rusthall, Kent. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

. In his honour, the Vegetarian Society established a memorial prize essay competition.

Publications

* " On Fish Eating", ''The Vegetarian'', Vol. 4, 15 April 1899, pp. 145–150 *''The Diet Cure of Cancer'' *''The Manifesto of Vegetarianism'' (London: Vegetarian Society, 1911)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, Cornelius Prout 1825 births 1913 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English educators 19th-century English male writers 19th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers Activists from London Alternative cancer treatment advocates British magazine founders Businesspeople from the London Borough of Islington English company founders English emigrants to New Zealand English magazine editors English temperance activists English veganism activists English vegetarianism activists Founders of English schools and colleges Golders Green Crematorium Heads of schools in London Heads of schools in New Zealand People associated with the Vegetarian Society People from Islington (district) Publication founders Schoolteachers from London Vegetarianism writers