John howard actor

John Howard September 2, — January 20, was a British philanthropist and prison reformer. Born into a wealthy family and inheriting considerable fortune, Howard traveled widely. His experience of prison awakened in him a vocation for service, and a subsequent religious experience led him to determine to make an important contribution to the world.

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Accepting an appointment as High Sheriff, he invested himself personally into the task, visiting the jail and investigating problems with the penal system. He would eventually spend the rest of his life, and considerable amounts of money, on efforts for prison reform and improvement of the lives of prisoners both within the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe.

His exemplary efforts in living for the sake of others are remembered and honored in several organizations bearing his name that continue to work for penal reform. His father was a wealthy upholsterer at Smithfield Market in the city. His mother died when he was five, and being described as a "sickly child," he was sent to live at Cardington, Bedfordshire, some 40 miles from London, where his father owned property.

His father, a strict disciplinarian with strong religious beliefs, sent young John to a school in Hertford and then to John Eames' Dissenting Academy in London.

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After school, John worked as an apprentice to a wholesale grocer to learn business methods, but he was unhappy. When his father died in , he was left with a sizable inheritance but no true vocation. His Calvinist faith and quiet, serious disposition meant he had little desire for the fashionable endeavors of an English aristocratic lifestyle.

In , he left England to tour France and Italy. Upon his return, he lived in lodgings in Stoke Newington, where he again became seriously ill. He was nursed back to health by his landlady, Sarah Loidore, whom he then married despite her being 30 years his senior. She died within three years, and he distributed her meager belongings amongst her remaining family and poor neighbors.

He then set out for Portugal , traveling on the ship Hanover , which was captured by French privateers.