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Henry BerghFounder of the American Society for the Protection of Animals, ASPCA
Date of Birth: 29.08.1813
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Henry Bergh
Henry Bergh (August 29, 1811 – March 12, 1888) was the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in April 1866. He was born in New York City to a wealthy family, Elizabeth Ayers and Christian Bergh. His father was a shipbuilder who owned his own private shipyard, where he fulfilled government orders. Henry enrolled in Columbia College in New York but did not complete his education. Instead, from 1831 to 1836, he embarked on a voyage to European countries, where he became interested in art and tried his hand at writing. In 1836, Henry married Catherine Matilda Taylor. After his father retired, Henry and his brother, Christian Jr., continued the family business. However, when their father passed away in 1843, they sold the shipyard and divided the inheritance. After that, Henry led a leisurely lifestyle and traveled through Europe with his wife, where he wrote several unsuccessful plays.
Founding the ASPCA
In 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln sent Henry Bergh on a diplomatic mission to the court of Russian Tsar Alexander II. During his stay in Russia, Henry witnessed widespread cruelty towards animals, and similar cases he observed in other European countries heightened his feelings of sensitivity, compassion, and empathy. On his way back to the United States in 1865, Bergh stopped in London and consulted with the Earl of Harrowby, the president of the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, founded in 1840. Bergh used his wealth, fame, and status to raise public awareness about the senseless suffering of animals and to gain the support of influential New York businessmen, politicians, and religious leaders in the necessity of establishing the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
In 1866, Bergh delivered a lecture at Clinton Hall, presenting statistical data and examples related to animal cruelty. This speech became a turning point in his efforts to legally regulate cruelty towards animals in American society. Within two months, laws holding people accountable for animal cruelty were enacted in the state of New York. In April of that year, Bergh founded the society and became its president.
Expanding his Activism
In 1874, Bergh was approached by Methodist missionary Etta Wheeler, who asked for his help in rescuing a girl named Mary Ellen Wilson from her guardian, Mary Connolly, who had been treating her extremely cruelly. After Bergh, using his connections, helped remove the child from the unreliable caretaker, citizens flocked to him with similar requests. As a result, he, along with Elbridge Gerry and John Wright, established the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1875. In subsequent years, similar societies were founded in other states across the country.
Bergh passed away in 1888 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. In the spring of 2006, the ASPCA conducted preparatory work at the cemetery to pay tribute to Henry Bergh and discovered that his wife was buried in the same vault. The ceremony took place on May 6, and visitors were allowed to bring their pets to the cemetery for the first time. On that day, a commemorative relief was unveiled on Bergh's grave. Simultaneously, an exhibition dedicated to the history and activities of the ASPCA and Henry Bergh was held in the chapel building on the cemetery grounds. Thanks to Henry Bergh's efforts, numerous legislative acts were passed, establishing accountability for animal cruelty. Cockfighting was banned in the United States, humane methods of euthanizing animals in slaughterhouses were devised, shelters for homeless animals were created, and much more.
