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 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 ...

activist.

Life

Phillips was born in

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 ...

on 13 December 1767. Following some political difficulties in

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 ...

where he was a schoolteacher and bookseller (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 ...

'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 philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

and Thomas Holcroft. Phillips 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, but also of learners ( ...

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

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

' decision in 1777 to strike down the perpetual copyright asserted by a small group of London booksellers to standard introductory works. His ''Juvenile Library'' published in 1800–03 provided the steady returns of all successful

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

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

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

, at which time he was knighted on the occasion of presenting an address. Another of the contributors to Phillips's ''Monthly Magazine'' was the Scottish novelist John Galt. 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 de ...

in the Bank Panic; he died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

on 2 April 1840, aged 72, and is buried in the western extension of St Nicholas Churchyard.

Vegetarianism

Phillips was 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 ...

.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 27 July 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

Phillips 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 assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s including, as Rev. David Blai
Easy Grammar of Natural and Experimental Philosophy''
(first ed. 1807) an
''A Grammar of Chemistry''
(first ed. 1810). 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. 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) *
A Million of Facts: Connected with the Studies, Pursuits, and Interests of Mankind, Serving as a Common-place Book of Useful Reference on All Subjects of Research and Curiosity
' (1835) *'' A Million of Facts of: Correct Data and Elementary Information Concerning the Entire Circle of the Sciences, and on All Subjects of Speculation and Practice'' (1839)

Selected works published by Phillips

* ''The British Nepos'' (1798) by William Fordyce Mavor * '' Pizarro'' (1799) and ''The Virgin of the Sun'' (1799) by August von Kotzebue * ''An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man'' (1802) by Jean Marc Gaspard Itard * ''A Tale of Mystery'' (1802) and '' Hear Both Sides'' (1803) by Thomas Holcroft * ''Poems'' (1805) by Laura Sophia Temple * ''Virtuous poverty'' (1804) and ''The maid, wife, and widow'' (1806) by Henry Siddons * ''The Farmer's Calendar'' (1809) by Arthur Young * ''A voyage of discovery to the Strait of Magellan'' (1820) by José de Vargas Ponce * ''A voyage round the world, between the years 1816-1819'' (1823) by Camille de Roquefeuil

References

External links

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