J. Howard Moore

J. Howard Moore
Moore, c. 1900–1914
Born	John Howard Moore (1862-12-04)December 4, 1862 Rockville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 17, 1916(1916-06-17) (aged 53) Wooded Island, Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting place	Excelsior Cemetery, Mitchell County, Kansas, U.S. 39°23′48″N 98°21′28″W / 39.3967018°N 98.3578033°W / 39.3967018; -98.3578033
Other names	Silver tongue of Kansas
Education	Oskaloosa College Drake University University of Chicago (A.B. in zoology, 1896)
Occupations	Zoologist philosopher educator social reformer
Known for	Animal rights and ethical vegetarianism advocacy
Notable work	Why I Am a Vegetarian (1895) The Universal Kinship (1906) The New Ethics (1907)
Spouse	Jennie Louise Darrow ​ ​ (m. 1899)​
Relatives	Clarence Darrow (brother-in-law)
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John Howard Moore (December 4, 1862 – June 17, 1916) was an American zoologist, philosopher, educator, humanitarian and socialist. He is considered to be an early, yet neglected, proponent of animal rights and ethical vegetarianism, and was a leading figure in the American humanitarian movement. Moore was a prolific writer, authoring numerous articles, books, essays, pamphlets on topics including animal rights, education, ethics, evolutionary biology, humanitarianism, socialism, temperance, utilitarianism and vegetarianism. He also lectured on many of these subjects and was widely regarded as a talented orator, earning the name the "silver tongue of Kansas" for his lectures on prohibition.

Moore was born near Rockville, Indiana, in 1862 and spent his formative years in Linden, Missouri. Raised as a Christian, this instilled in him the anthropocentric belief that non-human animals existed for the benefit of humans. At college, Moore was introduced to Darwin's theory of evolution, which led him to develop an ethic that rejected both Christianity and anthropocentrism, and recognized the intrinsic value of animals; he adopted vegetarianism as an extension of this belief. While studying zoology at the University of Chicago, he became a socialist, helped form the university's Vegetarian Eating Club and won a national oratorical contest on prohibition. Moore was an influential member of the Chicago Vegetarian Society and attempted to model the organization as an American version of the Humanitarian League, a British organization that Moore was also a member of. In 1895, Moore delivered a speech that was published by the Chicago Vegetarian Society as Why I Am a Vegetarian. For the rest of his life, Moore worked as a teacher in Chicago, while continuing to lecture and write.

In 1899, Moore published his first book Better-World Philosophy, in which he described what he saw as fundamental problems in the world and his ideal arrangement of the universe. In 1906, his best-known work The Universal Kinship was published, in which he advocated for a sentiocentric philosophy he called the doctrine of Universal Kinship, based on the shared evolutionary kinship between all sentient beings. Moore expanded on his ideas in The New Ethics the following year. In response to the passing of a law in Illinois prescribing the teaching of morals in public schools, Moore published supporting education material, in the form of two books and a pamphlet. This was followed by two books on evolution: The Law of Biogenesis (1914) and Savage Survivals (1916). After having suffered from chronic illness and depression for several years, Moore killed himself at the age of 53 in Jackson Park, Chicago.