John Cadbury

John Cadbury was born on 12 August 1801 in Birmingham to Richard Tapper Cadbury, a linen draper, and his wife Elizabeth Head Cadbury. He was from a wealthy Quaker family that moved to the area from the west of England. Cadbury attended Joseph Crosfield's Quaker School at Hartshill, Warwickshire.

Personal life and death

Cadbury married twice. He married Priscilla Ann Dymond (1799–1828), in 1826, but she died two years later. In Lancaster on 24 July 1832 he married his second wife, Candia Barrow (Lancaster, 1805–1855), daughter of George Barrow and wife Elizabeth Pumphrey, and had seven children: John (1834–1866), Richard (1835–1899), Maria (1838–1908), George (1839–1922), Joseph (1841–1841), Edward (1843–1866), and Henry (1845–1875).

Cadbury died at his home in Edgbaston, on 11 May 1889. He was buried at Witton Cemetery, Birmingham.

Activism and philanthropy

Between 1830 and 1841, Cadbury served as a Poor Law guardian, where he vocally opposed the exploitation of climbing boys and criticised the indulgent feasting practices of local poor law officials. A passionate advocate for environmental reform, he set an example by reducing pollution in his own factory and played a significant role in securing legislation to address industrial pollution.

Cadbury opposed animal cruelty including bull-baiting and was a supporter of the Animals' Friend Society. He was also a supporter of the Peace Society and an advocate for Sunday schools.

Cadbury was an abstainer and active in the temperance movement. He saw drinking chocolate as an alternative for alcoholic beverages. At the time of his death, he had been a total abstainer for half a century and was one of the first to sign the pledge for the formation of a temperance society in Birmingham. He was a vice-president of the United Kingdom Alliance for many years and was an influential member of the Birmingham Temperance Society. He was also an active promoter of the Blue Ribbon campaign.

Later in life, Cadbury devoted himself to philanthropy, championing the development of hospitals, savings banks, and facilities for the blind.