Henry Stephens Salt
Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt arrived in Naini Tal, British India, on the 20th of September 1851. His father served as a colonel in the British Army. The infant moved with his family to England just one year later during 1852. He grew up to become a King's Scholar at Eton College before studying classics at King's College, Cambridge. Salt won the Browne Medal for Greek epigrams in 1874 and graduated with first-class honors the following year. After earning his degree he returned to Eton as an assistant master teaching classics. He married Catherine Leigh Joynes in 1879 while still employed there. Salt left the school in 1884 to live in a cottage at Tilford in Surrey. There he and his wife grew their own vegetables and lived on a small pension.
Salt's shift toward vegetarianism developed alongside his evolving social political and religious views. Shelley served as a key mentor who significantly influenced his thinking. Howard Williams' book The Ethics of Diet also played a role in shaping his views. Salt saw meat not as food but as flesh slaughtered under harsh conditions. This understanding prompted him to scrutinize the ethical foundations of civilization itself. He viewed civilization as concealing fundamental barbarism and violence underlying human society. He identified this brutality in both humanity's treatment of other species and in political relationships. War imperialism and social injustices resulting from competitive capitalism all demonstrated this pattern. In 1885 he was named vice-president of the Vegetarian Society. His 1886 anthology A Plea for Vegetarianism emphasized rational advocacy over emotional arguments. He argued that vegetarianism formed a critical component of broader social reform movements.
Salt introduced Mohandas Gandhi to the works of Henry David Thoreau during their time together. Gandhi encountered Salt's Plea for Vegetarianism in a London vegetarian restaurant. He read it thoroughly and felt profoundly impressed by its message. Gandhi chose to become a vegetarian by choice rather than through religious obligation alone. He dedicated himself to promoting the diet throughout his life. Salt and Gandhi shared a platform at a 1931 London Vegetarian Society meeting. Gandhi delivered a speech titled The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism explaining his dietary principles there. Salt influenced Gandhi to transition from religiously motivated vegetarianism to an explicitly ethical one. This connection shaped the future leader's commitment to nonviolence and diet. Their friendship spanned decades despite different backgrounds and national origins. Salt provided the intellectual framework that helped Gandhi develop his own philosophy of resistance.
Salt co-founded the Humanitarian League in 1891 with the aim to promote humaneness. The organization advocated for social and legal reforms across multiple domains. Its philosophy believed scientific advances had debunked notions of differences between races classes and species. The League included prominent figures like Howard Williams Alice Drakoules Edward Maitland and Kenneth Romanes. It established an office in London in 1895 and launched the journal Humanity. The group hosted the first National Humanitarian Conference during its early years. From 1897 until 1919 it operated from headquarters at Chancery Lane. The League actively campaigned against corporal punishment blood sports and other societal injustices. They used press engagements and public debates to advance their causes. After Salt stepped down in 1919 the League eventually dissolved. Former members founded the League Against Cruel Sports in 1924 following its end.
In his essay A Good Taste in Diet published within A Plea for Vegetarianism Salt asked if any thoughtful man could choose to be a flesh-eater. He argued that only vegetarian diets allow for widely sympathetic intellectual gentleness recognizing rights of all animal creation. Keith Tester noted that Salt created an epistemological break in 1892 by considering animal rights explicitly. His book Animals' Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress aimed to set this principle on consistent footing. Salt cited Herbert Spencer's definition of rights regarding restricted freedom for every individual. He wrote there is no point claiming rights for animals if we subordinate them to human interests. He argued against the presumption that human life necessarily holds more value than nonhuman life. Salt rejected the notion that animal lives possess no moral purpose as arbitrary assumptions. He believed we must get rid of the antiquated notion of a great gulf fixed between species. Recognition of common bonds unites all living beings in one universal brotherhood according to his philosophy.
During his lifetime Salt wrote almost 40 books covering diverse subjects from nature to politics. His first work A Plea for Vegetarianism appeared in 1886 through the Vegetarian Society publisher. In 1890 he produced an acclaimed biography of philosopher Henry David Thoreau. This interest later led to friendship with Mahatma Gandhi and shaped his broader humanitarian views. Salt also wrote On Cambrian and Cumbrian Hills about protecting natural beauty from commercial vandalism. His circle included writers Algernon Charles Swinburne John Galsworthy Thomas Hardy Rudyard Kipling and Count Leo Tolstoy. Political figures like Labour leader James Keir Hardie and Fabian Society co-founders Hubert Bland joined his network. Peter Kropotkin Edward Carpenter Havelock Ellis Arnold Hills Ralph Hodgson Ouida J Howard Moore Ernest Bell George Bernard Shaw Robert Cunninghame-Graham all counted among his friends. Stephen Winsten published Salt and His Circle in 1951 featuring a preface by George Bernard Shaw. The book documented Salt's extensive bibliography and relationships with prominent literary figures across generations.
Salt died at Brighton Municipal Hospital on the 19th of April 1939 aged 87 after suffering a stroke six years prior. His remains were cremated at Brighton Crematorium following his death. The first biography titled Salt and His Circle appeared in 1951 written by Stephen Winsten. A second biography Humanitarian Reformer and Man of Letters emerged in 1977 through author George Hendrick. Salt's Animals' Rights received reissue in 1980 with philosopher Peter Singer writing its preface. Singer described the work as the best book of the 18th- and 19th-centuries on animal rights. He praised how Salt anticipated many issues in contemporary animal rights debates. The Henry S. Salt Society formed to celebrate the life and works of Salt today. Its website provides information on Salt's life along with details about his friends and fellow activists. The society continues promoting awareness of his contributions to social reform and animal protection movements worldwide.
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Common questions
When was Henry Stephens Salt born and where did he arrive in British India?
Henry Stephens Salt arrived in Naini Tal, British India on the 20th of September 1851. He moved with his family to England during 1852 after spending just one year in India.
What books did Henry Stephens Salt write about vegetarianism and animal rights?
Henry Stephens Salt published A Plea for Vegetarianism in 1886 and Animals Rights Considered in Relation to Social Progress which set animal rights principles on consistent footing. His work Animals' Rights received reissue in 1980 with a preface by philosopher Peter Singer who called it the best book of the 18th- and 19th-centuries on animal rights.
How did Henry Stephens Salt influence Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy?
Henry Stephens Salt introduced Mohandas Gandhi to the works of Henry David Thoreau while they were together in London. Salt influenced Gandhi to transition from religiously motivated vegetarianism to an explicitly ethical one that shaped the future leader's commitment to nonviolence and diet.
Who co-founded the Humanitarian League with Henry Stephens Salt and when was it established?
Henry Stephens Salt co-founded the Humanitarian League in 1891 with the aim to promote humaneness through social and legal reforms across multiple domains. The organization operated from headquarters at Chancery Lane from 1897 until 1919 before eventually dissolving after Salt stepped down.
When did Henry Stephens Salt die and what biographies have been written about him?
Henry Stephens Salt died at Brighton Municipal Hospital on the 19th of April 1939 aged 87 after suffering a stroke six years prior. His first biography titled Salt and His Circle appeared in 1951 written by Stephen Winsten and a second biography Humanitarian Reformer and Man of Letters emerged in 1977 through author George Hendrick.