William Tebb (22 October 1830 – 23 January 1917) was a British businessman and wide-ranging

social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

. He was an

anti-vaccinationist Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

and author of anti-

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

books.''Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853–1907'', Nadja Durbach, Duke University Press, 2005, �
Google Books
/ref> He was concerned about

premature burial Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of t ...

Biography

Privately educated, Tebb started work at fifteen for a Manchester business, attending evening classes where he encountered the ideas of the British

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn Laws ...

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a young ...

and

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...

, and the American Christian social reformer

Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism and socialism, abolitionism and the founder of the Hopedale Community. Through his long career as a Universalist and Unitarian minister, he ...

. His ideas were also influenced by a

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian or ...

sect promoting physical purity, food reform, and

teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...

. In 1852, Tebb went to the United States as a representative of the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...

. He was introduced to Ballou and made frequent visits to the latter's experimental

Hopedale Community The Hopedale Community was founded in Milford, Massachusetts, in 1843 by Adin Ballou. He and his followers purchased of land on which they built homes for the community members, chapels and the factories for which the company was initially formed. ...

, where he met and married Mary Elizabeth Scott in 1856. In the 1850s he became active in the American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

movement, but he and his family returned to England in the 1860s to escape a

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

outbreak, settling in London. Tebb became a director of a company making

bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

ing chemicals for paper, earning a large fortune that he used to fund a variety of social causes. He co-founded the Royal Normal College for the Blind, was active in anti-

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

, contributed to the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...

(becoming a vice-president of the National Canine Defence League) as well as joining the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the

Humanitarian League The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 189 ...

. Politically a radical

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he was a member of the

Devonshire Club The Devonshire Club was a London gentlemen's club which was established in 1874 and was disbanded in 1976. Throughout its existence it was based at 50 St James's Street. The major Liberal club of the day was the Reform Club, but in the wake of ...

National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...

New Reform Club New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and the

Vigilance Association for the Defence of Personal Rights Vigilance may refer to: * Alertness * Vigilance, a creature ability in the ''Magic: The Gathering'' collectible card game * ''Vigilance'' (album), by Threat Signal * Vigilance (behavioural ecology), the watchfulness of prey for nearby predator ...

Anti-vaccination activism

In 1869, Tebb became deeply committed to the anti-vaccination campaign whose aim was repeal of the

Vaccination Act The UK Vaccination Acts of 1840, 1853, 1867 and 1898 were a series of legislative Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom regarding the Smallpox vaccine, vaccination policy of the country. Provisions The 1840 Act The Vaccination Act ...

s that made

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

vaccination compulsory for children. He himself was prosecuted and fined thirteen times for refusal to vaccinate his third daughter. In 1880, he co-founded the

London Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination The National Anti-Vaccination League (NAVL) was a British anti-vaccination organization that was formed in 1896 from earlier smaller organizations. Historically, the League had opposed compulsory vaccination, particularly against smallpox. It was ...

(LSACV) and established its official publication, the ''Vaccination Inquirer''. He served as its chairman until 1896, when it was dissolved to form the

National Anti-Vaccination League The National Anti-Vaccination League (NAVL) was a British anti-vaccination organization that was formed in 1896 from earlier smaller organizations. Historically, the League had opposed compulsory vaccination, particularly against smallpox. It was ...

(NAVL), of which he was president. He became a highly publicised activist against compulsory smallpox vaccination, and then one of the most prolific writers and activists against vaccination itself. Although interested in

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

and

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

, he campaigned not on religious grounds but on general appeal to values of social

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. He visited the United States in 1879, and campaigned against smallpox vaccinations. Smallpox had recently become epidemic again, after a decline in vaccination, following a decline in cases of smallpox earlier in the century. Several American anti-vaccination organisations arose around the time of his visit. The NAVL succeeded in its lobbying for a government enquiry (a Royal Commission in 1886), and the 1898/1907 Act of 1898 that introduced exemption from vaccination on grounds of

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

. Although he continued to campaign against vaccination, in later life Tebb took on further causes.

Other interests

In 1895, he moved to Rede Hall, Burstow,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, where he occupied major posts in the parish council, local horticultural society and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club. He paid for a monument to Adin Ballou at Hopedale, and a drinking fountain at Burstow in memory of the 400,000 horses killed and wounded during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, to which he was strongly opposed as a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

and anti-

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

. Along with

Walter Hadwen Walter Robert Hadwen (3 August 1854 – 27 December 1932) was an English general practitioner, pharmaceutical chemist and writer. He was president of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and an anti-vaccination campaigner ...

, in 1896 he had co-founded the London Association for the Prevention of Premature Burial, that campaigned for burial reforms to ensure that those buried were certainly dead. When he died at Burstow in 1917, his will specified that "unmistakable evidence of decomposition" should be visible, so he was cremated a week after his death.

Personal life

William Tebb had a son and three daughters. His son was a doctor, Dr. William Scott Tebb who wrote "A Century of Vaccination and what it teaches us". His daughter, Florence Joy Tebb, studied mathematics at

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

, Cambridge and worked closely with her husband the biologist

Raphael Weldon Walter Frank Raphael Weldon Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (15 March 1860 – 13 April 1906), was an English evolutionary biologist and a founder of biometry. He was the joint founding editor of ''Biometrika'', with Francis Galton and Karl Pea ...

. His other daughter, Mary Christine Tebb, was a biochemist and married the biochemist Otto Rosenheim.

Publications

*''Sanitation, not Vaccination the True Protection against Small-Pox'', 1881 paper, Second International Congress of Anti-Vaccinators *''Testimonies of Medical Authorities on Vaccination'', Preface, 1882, London Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination *''Compulsory Vaccination in England: with incidental references to foreign states'', 1884, E.W. Allen, London *''The Increase of Cancer'', 1892, ''The Tocsin''. Booklet reprint 1892, Wertheimer, Lea & Co., London *''Leprosy and Vaccination'', 1893, Swan Sonnenschein & Co., London *''Premature burial, and how it may be prevented, with special reference to trance catalepsy, and other forms of suspended animation'', ed. Walter Hadwen, Swan, London, 1905

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tebb, William 1830 births 1917 deaths British animal rights activists British anti-vaccination activists British classical liberals British male writers British non-fiction writers British social reformers Businesspeople from Manchester People associated with the Vegetarian Society People associated with the Royal National College for the Blind 19th-century English businesspeople Male non-fiction writers