Albert Broadbent FSS FRHS (15 February 1867 – 21 January 1912) was an English activist for vegetarianism, writer, lecturer, and restaurateur.
Albert Broadbent | |
|---|---|
 Portrait c. 1902 | |
| Born | 15 February 1867 Hollingworth, England |
| Died | 21 January 1912 (aged 44) Manchester, England |
| Resting place | Southern Cemetery, Manchester |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, writer, lecturer, restaurateur |
| Years active | 1895–1912 |
| Spouse |
Christina Harrison (m. 1892) |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Born in Hollingworth, Broadbent served as Secretary of the Vegetarian Society and edited The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review, promoting vegetarianism internationally. Broadbent's 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 Manchester in 1912 following the failure of his restaurants, which led to him suffering a significant financial loss and experiencing a nervous breakdown.
Biography edit
Albert Broadbent was born in Hollingworth, on 15 February 1867.[1] He later married Christina Harrison on 5 January 1892;[2] they had one daughter.[3]
Broadbent originally intented to pursue a commercial career, before becoming Secretary of the Vegetarian Society in 1895. He was also the editor of the society's journal The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review. Broadbent represented the society at International Congresses at Paris, Dresden, St. Louis and London.[1] Broadbent was an active member of the Vegetarian Federal Union and attended all their meetings from 1893.[4]
Broadbent lectured extensively on vegetarianism and dietics. He was a Fellow of the Statistical Society and the Royal Horticultural Society.[1]
Broadbent's book Science in the Daily Meal, argued that a vegetarian diet is capable of providing the body its highest state of physical development; Broadbent listed one hundred recipes free of uric acid.[5] The book promoted the consumption of plasmon but this food was controversial as not all vegetarians advocated its use. In 1903, J. P. Sandlands wrote a rebuttal to Broadbent's book entitled Science in the Daily Meal Criticised, or Plasmon Confounded.[6] Broadbent published an abridged edition of Howard Williams' book The Ethics of Diet, in 1907.[7]
Broadbent started vegetarian restaurants in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Leicester, 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.[8]
After experiencing a complete nervous breakdown,[8] Broadbent died on 21 January 1912 at his home in Longsight, Manchester; he was buried in the Southern Cemetery.[9]
Selected publications edit
- Forty Vegetarian Dinners (1900)
- Andrew Glendinning’s Apple Tree Cookery Book and Guide to Rational Diet (Edited and Arranged 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)[10]
- 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)
References edit
- ^ a b c "Broadbent, Albert". Who Was Who: A Companion to "Who's Who" Containing the Biographies of Those Who Died During the Period 1897-1916. London: A & C Black. 1920. p. 89. Retrieved 13 January 2024 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ Greater Manchester County Record Office (With Manchester Archives); Manchester, England; Reference Number: GB127.M67/2/1/2/1
- ^ Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901.
- ^ "Albert Broadbent". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Science in the Daily Meal by Albert Broadbent". Pharmaceutical Journal. 68: 483. 1902.
- ^ Addyman, Mary; Wood, Laura; Yiannitsaros, Christopher. (2017). Food, Drink, and the Written Word in Britain, 1820–1945. Routledge. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-8489-3610-2
- ^ "The Ethics of Diet by Howard Williams". The London Quarterly Review. 6 (108): 18. 1907.
- ^ a b Scott, WM. M. (1 May 1912). "Mr. Albert Broadbent—An Appreciation" (PDF). Good Health. 10 (5): 148.
- ^ "Deaths". Manchester Evening News. 22 January 1912. pp. 4 – via Newspapers.com (subscription required).
- ^ McLaughlin, Terence (1979). If You Like It, Don't Eat it: Dietary Fads and Fancies. New York: Universe Books. p. 169. ISBN 0-87663-332-7. OCLC 5499827.
20th-century Welsh educators