R. E. O'Callaghan

Robert Elliott O'Callaghan (1855 – 21 December 1936) was an English vegetarianism activist, lecturer, and writer. He became a prominent vegetarian advocate after being inspired by Francis William Newman. O'Callaghan joined the London Food Reform Society in 1880 and quickly rose to a position on its Executive Committee. He held key roles such as official lecturer for the Vegetarian Association, secretary of the London Vegetarian Society, and First Secretary of the Vegetarian Federal Union. O'Callaghan managed the Wheat Sheaf vegetarian restaurant and authored several works on vegetarianism. In 1900, he founded the Catholic Humane League.

R. E. O'Callaghan
Portrait from Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
Born	Robert Elliott O'Callaghan 1855 St Pancras, Middlesex, England
Died	21 December 1936 (aged 81) Longsight, Manchester, England
Resting place	Southern Cemetery, Manchester
Occupations	Activist lecturer writer
Years active	1880–c. 1911
Known for	Vegetarianism activism
Spouse	Mary Ann Barry ​ (m. 1888)​
Children	1
Signature

Biography

Early life

Robert Elliott O'Callaghan was born in St Pancras, Middlesex, in the final quarter of 1855,^[1] of Irish Catholic descent.^[2]: 88

Career

O'Callaghan's attention was first directed to vegetarianism by one of Francis William Newman's lectures, a report of which he noticed in a shop window. In 1880, he joined the London Food Reform Society and became a member of its Executive Committee the following year. O’Callaghan became well known for his impactful lectures on vegetarianism, which he often enriched with magic lantern illustrations.^[3]

O'Callaghan held several significant positions within the vegetarian movement. He served as the official lecturer for the Vegetarian Association,^[4] the secretary of the London Vegetarian Society,^[5] and, from 1890, as the First Secretary of the Vegetarian Federal Union.^[3] He later acted as an agent for the Federal Union for the Southern Counties.^[3]

In 1893, O'Callaghan was a speaker at a vegetarian meeting chaired by C. H. Worsnop in Halifax. He argued that a vegetarian diet was more nourishing than eating meat and such a diet involved no additional work as vegetarian cookery was simple and more economical for the household.^[6]

O'Callaghan later became the proprietor of the London vegetarian restaurant, the Wheat Sheaf, located at 13 Rathbone Place, Oxford Street, taking over from Mrs. Britton.^[2]: 88

O'Callaghan authored several works on vegetarianism. In 1889, he published The Best Diet for a Working Man.^[7] The following year, he co-authored, with Charles W. Forward, The Manual of Vegetarianism: A Complete Guide to Food Reform^[2]: 351 This was followed by How to Begin Vegetarianism with Month's Dietary and Cookery Book.^[8] He also published the pamphlet, The Testimony of Science Against Flesh Eating^[9] and contributed the short story, "The Ghost", about an ex-soldier who refuses to harm animals, to Forward's Dulce Sodalitium: A Selection of Stories and Sketches by Vegetarian Writers.^[10]

In 1900, O'Callaghan founded the Catholic Humane League, aimed at promoting humane principles among Catholics in line with the teachings of the Church. He served as its Honorary Secretary.^[11]

O'Callaghan later moved to Manchester with his family.^[12] In 1908, he delivered an address on the anti-vivisection movement and a lecture on "Vivisection in Our Hospitals" at Heywood.^[13] He served as secretary of the Northern Anti-Vivisection Federation^[14] and was affiliated with the Stockport Anti-Vivisection Society^[15] and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.^[16] He was also a member of the Humanitarian League.^[17]

Personal life and death

In 1888, O'Callaghan married Mary Ann Barry in Fulham.^[18] They had one daughter, Florence.^[12]

O'Callaghan died at Longsight, Manchester on 21 December 1936, at the age of 81. He was buried on 24 December at Southern Cemetery.^[19]

Publications

• The Best Diet for a Working Man (London: London Vegetarian Society, 1889; OCLC 266967686)
• The Manual of Vegetarianism: A Complete Guide to Food Reform (with Charles W. Forward; London: Hygienic Publishing Union, 1890; OCLC 561996761)
• How to Begin Vegetarianism with Month's Dietary and Cookery Book (London: 1897; OCLC 316664483)
• The Testimony of Science Against Flesh Eating (Order of the Golden Age)