John Peter Haines (1851–1921) was President of the

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

(ASPCA) from 1889 to 1906.

Biography

John Peter Haines was born in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on December 17, 1851, the son of William Augustus Haines and Emily Somers (Stagg) Haines. He had three siblings by the names of William Augustus Haines Jr. (1846–1912), Richard Townley Haines (1855–1896), and Emily Somers Haines Jr. (1858–1928). He was educated by private tutors and at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He married Mary Merritt in 1873. He died at his home in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

(ASPCA) from 1889 to 1906. In 1903 he stopped the owners of the Coney Island

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

from conducting a public hanging of an elephant named

Topsy Topsy may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Topsy, a character in the novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * Topsy, a character in the 2018 film ''Mary Poppins Returns'' * ''Topsy and Eva'', a 1928 film based on ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * ''Topsy and Tim'', ...

saying it was needlessly cruel and animal deaths should not be a public spectacle. Instead, he agreed to a more private affair that included poisoned carrots with

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

, electrocution, then afterwards strangulation with a winch.

References

External links

* 1851 births 1921 deaths Activists from New York City American animal welfare workers ASPCA workers Columbia University alumni People from Manhattan {{US-activist-stub