John Eliot Howard (11 December 1807 – 22 November 1883) was an English chemist of the nineteenth century, who conducted pioneering work with the development of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to '' Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal le ...

. Howard was born in Plaistow,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, the son of

Luke Howard Luke Howard, (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed i ...

a noted Quaker meteorologist and chemist. He worked at the family pharmaceutical manufacturing business of Howards and Sons. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in June 1874. He was the author of scientific works including ''The Quinology of the East Indian Plantations (1869–1876)'', religious works including a commentary on the book of

Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...

and histories including ''The Island Of The Saints'', about the

Reformation in Ireland The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English administration at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage ...

. Howard was originally a Quaker, but became connected with Christians meeting at the new Brooks Street Meeting House in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

, now

Brook Street Chapel Brook Street Chapel is a church building in Tottenham, North London. The building was constructed for use as a meeting place for local Christians affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren movement. History A group of around eight individuals who had ...

, which was founded in 1838–1839 by a number of other Christians including Howard's brother Robert; his father Luke (the 'namer of clouds') helped to finance the building of the chapel: a portrait of the father and son hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Howard married Maria Crewdson on 9 September 1830 and the couple had nine children, including Joseph Howard, who was later Liberal MP for

. The family lived at Lord's Meade, Lordship Lane, Tottenham. Howard died in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, London at the age of 76 and is buried in

Tottenham Cemetery Tottenham Cemetery is a large burial ground in Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey, in north London, England. It was opened in 1858 by the Tottenham Burial Board to replace the churchyard of All Hallows' Church, Tottenham which had clo ...

. One of his grandchildren was the ornithologist,

Henry Eliot Howard Henry Eliot Howard (13 November 1873 – 26 December 1940) was an English amateur ornithologist, noted for being one of the first to describe territoriality behaviours in birds in a detailed manner. His ideas on territoriality were influential ...

. The genus '' Howardia'' of the ''

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules a ...

'' was dedicated to him.G. S. Boulger
‘Howard, John Eliot (1807–1883)’
rev. Max Satchell, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, John Eliot 1807 births 1883 deaths People from Plaistow, Newham 19th-century English people 19th-century chemists English chemists Quinine British Plymouth Brethren Fellows of the Royal Society