A noted philanthropist, born at Hackney, Middlesex; was left in easy circumstances at his father's death; a bitter experience as a French prisoner of war and observations made whilst acting as sheriff of Bedfordshire roused him to attempt some reform of the abuses and misery of prison life; he made a tour of the county jails of England, and the mass of information which he laid before the House of Commons in 1774 brought about the first prison reforms; he continued his visitations from year to year to every part of the United Kingdom and to every quarter of the Continent; during 1785-87 he made a tour of inspection through the principal lazarettos of Europe, visited plague-smitten cities, and voluntarily underwent the rigours of the quarantine system; he died at the Crimea whilst on a journey to the East; he published at various times accounts of his Journeys; his deep piety, cool sense, and single-hearted devotedness to his one great object won him universal respect throughout Europe (1727-1790).
The Nuttall Encyclopædia: Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge[1] is a late 19th-century encyclopedia, edited by Rev. James Wood, first published in London in 1900 by Frederick Warne & Co Ltd.
WikipediaEditions were recorded for 1920, 1930, 1938 and 1956 and was still being sold in 1966. Editors included G. Elgie Christ and A. L. Hayden for 1930, Lawrence Hawkins Dawson for 1938 and C. M. Prior for 1956.[2]
Read More