R. E. O'Callaghan

R. E. O'Callaghan
Portrait from Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
Born
Robert Elliott O'Callaghan

1855
St Pancras, Middlesex, England
Died (aged 81)
Longsight, Manchester, England
Resting placeSouthern Cemetery, Manchester
Occupations
  • Activist
  • writer
Known forVegetarianism, anti-vivisection, and humane activism
Spouse
Mary Ann Barry
​
(m. 1888)​
Children1
Signature

Robert Elliott O'Callaghan (1855 – 21 December 1936) was an English activist and writer. He was active in the vegetarian movement from the 1880s, serving as official lecturer for the Vegetarian Association, secretary of the London Vegetarian Society, and inaugural secretary of the Vegetarian Federal Union. He was also active in anti-vivisection and humane causes, founding the Catholic Humane League in 1900 and later serving in anti-vivisection organisations in northern England, and becoming a member of the Humanitarian League.

O'Callaghan became interested in vegetarianism after encountering a report of a lecture by Francis William Newman. He was known for his public lectures on vegetarianism, often illustrated with magic lantern slides, and later became proprietor of the Wheat Sheaf vegetarian restaurant in London. He also wrote and co-authored several vegetarian publications, including The Best Diet for a Working Man and The Manual of Vegetarianism.

Biography

Early life

Robert Elliott O'Callaghan was born in St Pancras, Middlesex, in the final quarter of 1855.[1] He was of Irish Catholic descent.[2]: 88 

Vegetarian activism

O'Callaghan's interest in vegetarianism was first aroused by a report of one of Francis William Newman's lectures that he saw in a shop window. In 1880, he joined the London Food Reform Society and the following year became a member of its executive committee. He became well known as a lecturer on vegetarianism, often illustrating his talks with magic lantern slides.[3]

O'Callaghan served as official lecturer for the Vegetarian Association, secretary of the London Vegetarian Society (LVS), and, from 1890, inaugural secretary of the Vegetarian Federal Union (VFU).[3][4][5] He later acted as the VFU's agent for the Southern Counties.[3]

At a vegetarian meeting in Halifax in 1893, chaired by C. H. Worsnop, O'Callaghan argued that a vegetarian diet was more nourishing than meat eating and that vegetarian cookery was simple and economical.[6]

He later became proprietor of the Wheat Sheaf, a vegetarian restaurant at 13 Rathbone Place, Oxford Street, succeeding Mrs. Britton.[2]: 88 

Anti-vivisection and humane work

In 1900, O'Callaghan founded the Catholic Humane League to promote humane principles among Catholics in accordance with Church teaching. He served as its honorary secretary.[7]

By 1908, O'Callaghan was active in the anti-vivisection movement. At Heywood, he delivered an address on the movement and a lecture titled "Vivisection in Our Hospitals".[8] He later served as secretary of the Northern Anti-Vivisection Federation and was associated with the Stockport Anti-Vivisection Society and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.[9][10][11] He was also a member of the Humanitarian League.[12]

Writings

In 1889, O'Callaghan published The Best Diet for a Working Man.[13] The following year, he co-authored, with Charles W. Forward, The Manual of Vegetarianism: A Complete Guide to Food Reform.[2]: 351  This was followed by How to Begin Vegetarianism with Month's Dietary and Cookery Book.[14] He also published the pamphlet, The Testimony of Science Against Flesh Eating and contributed the short story, "The Ghost", about an ex-soldier who refuses to harm animals, to Forward's Dulce Sodalitium: A Selection of Stories and Sketches by Vegetarian Writers.[15][16]

Personal life and death

In 1888, O'Callaghan married Mary Ann Barry in Fulham.[17][18] They had one daughter, Florence.[19]

In the 1911 United Kingdom census, O'Callaghan was recorded as living in Manchester with his family.[19]

O'Callaghan died at Longsight, Manchester, on 21 December 1936, aged 81. He was buried on 24 December at Southern Cemetery.[20]

Publications

  • Hints to Beginners (London: London Vegetarian Society)[21]
  • The Best Diet for a Working Man (London: London Vegetarian Society, 1889; OCLC 266967686)
  • The Manual of Vegetarianism: A Complete Guide to Food Reform (with Charles W. Forward; London: Hygienic Publishing Union, 1890; OCLC 561996761)
  • How to Begin Vegetarianism with Month's Dietary and Cookery Book (London: London Vegetarian Society, 1897; OCLC 316664483)
  • The Testimony of Science Against Flesh Eating (Order of the Golden Age)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Births Dec 1855: O'Callaghan, Robert Elliott". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (May 2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF) (Thesis). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Forward, Charles W. (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London: The Ideal Publishing Union. p. 148.
  4. ^ "Vegetarianism in Sheffield". Sheffield and Rotherham Independent. 21 August 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 13 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Appointments for March". Good Health. 6 (3): 85. 1 March 1908.
  6. ^ "Vegetarianism in Halifax". Halifax Evening Courier. 11 December 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  7. ^ Boulger, G. S., ed. (November 1900). Nature Notes: The Selborne Society's Magazine. Vol. XI. London: H. Sotheran. pp. 202–203 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Anti-Vivisection Society". Heywood Advertiser. 5 March 1909. p. 3. Retrieved 26 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Stockport Shorthand Writers' Association". Stockport Advertiser. 21 October 1910. p. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Vivisection: Is It Justifiable?". Stockport Express. 21 January 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 27 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Stockport Adult School". Stockport Advertiser. 19 December 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 13 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Waterfoot Wesley Guild". The Ramsbottom Observer. 4 February 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 27 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Bibliography: The Vegetarian Movement in England 1847-1981". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  14. ^ O'Callaghan, R. E. How to Begin Vegetarianism with Month's Dietary and Cookery Book. London Vegetarian Society. OCLC 316664483.
  15. ^ "Official Publications". Herald of the Golden Age. Vol. 2–16. 1897.
  16. ^ Kubisz, Marzena (14 August 2024). Children's Vegetarian Culture in the Victorian Era: The Juvenile Food Reformers Press and Literary Change. London: Routledge. p. 111. doi:10.4324/9781003400042. ISBN 978-1-003-40004-2.
  17. ^ "Marriages Jun 1888: O'Callaghan, Robert Elliott". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Marriages Jun 1888: Barry, Mary Ann". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b United Kingdom census (1911). "Robert Elliott O'Callaghan". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  20. ^ "O'Callaghan". Manchester Evening News. 23 December 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 13 February 2025 – via Findmypast.
  21. ^ Wallace, Chandos Leigh Hunt (1885). "The London Vegetarian Society". 366 Menus: Each Consisting of a Soup, a Savoury Course, a Sweet Course, a Cheese Course, and a Beverage, With All Their Suitable Accompaniments, for Every Day in the Year, No Dish or Beverage Being Once Repeated, All Arranged According to the Season (2nd ed.). London: Mrs. C. L. H. Wallace.
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