Job Caudwell
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| Born | (1820-12-08)8 December 1820
Drayton Manor, Abingdon, England
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| Died | 5 June 1908(1908-06-05) (aged 87)
Wandsworth, London, England
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| Occupation(s) | Publisher, bookseller, editor, activist |
| Spouses | Eliza Cooper Braine
(m. 1860; died 1887)Eliza Harvey (m. 1901) |
| Children | 4 |
Job Caudwell FRSL (8 December 1820 – 5 June 1908) was an English publisher and bookseller of temperance and reform literature, and activist for temperance, anti-vaccination and vegetarianism. He published and edited multiple periodicals and authored a vegetarian cookbook.
Job Caudwell, the seventh son of William Caudwell (1779–1854) and his wife Hannah (née Lousley; 1782–1849),[1] was born on 8 December 1820, at Drayton Manor in Abingdon; he was part of a sizable family with a total of 20 siblings. Caudwell's upbringing took place in rural Berkshire, and following this, he embarked on extensive travels. His academic pursuits focused on botany, and he engaged in "antiquarian researches." Caudwell dedicated his life to addressing what he perceived as the root causes of social problems, particularly those associated with alcohol consumption.[2]: 23–24
As a committed teetotal vegetarian, Caudwell aligned himself with the London Vegetarian Association and the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League. From 1857 to 1876, he played a significant role in publishing and editing the periodical Temperance Star,[3] followed by the Temperance Spectator from 1859 to 1867. Contributing further to his cause, he authored the Journal of Health and the vegetarian cookbook, Vegetarian Cookery for the Million in 1864.[4]
Caudwell was also a keen outdoorsman and was noted for successfully summiting Ben Nevis as a vegetarian.[2]: 23–24 In July 1859, he entered into a publishing partnership with fellow activist William Horsell at 335, The Strand; their partnership was dissolved in September 1860. His publishing office also served as a homeopathic institute, where Caudwell dispensed his brand of homeopathic cocoa. In recognition of his contributions, Caudwell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1863.[2]: 59
In February 1865, a memoir and portrait of Caudwell was published in The Illustrated News of the World,[2]: 23–24 of which Caudwell was editor.[5] In 1881 he laid the corner stone of Putney Methodist Church.[6]
Caudwell married Eliza Cooper Braine in 1860; they had four sons. His wife died in 1887 and he married Eliza Harvey in 1901.[5] Caudwell died on 5 June 1908 in Wandsworth, London.[7]
