John Howard

1726-1790

English Public Health Reformer

John Howard is remembered for his efforts and successes at reforming the appallingly unsanitary and inhumane conditions in hospitals and prisons both in England and in Europe during the eighteenth century. By visiting prisons first-hand, taking meticulous notes, and publishing books on the horrors he encountered, Howard raised public opinion. Howard was one of many mid-eighteenth century public health reformers, but recognized as one who obtained results and left a legacy that subsequent reformers could follow.

John Howard, the son of a wealthy man who inherited a fortune on his father's death in 1742, traveled widely in Europe. He suffered an unfortunate experience while traveling by ship to Spain in 1756 when his ship was seized by a French privateer. Howard, the ship's crew, and his fellow passengers were thrown into jail in France as prisoners of war. Although soon released, his suffering while imprisoned left a lasting impression. Twenty-five years later, after being elected high sheriff of Bedfordshire, England in 1773, he found conditions in his small Bedford county jail deplorable. Many prisoners, he found, were being kept in jail although they had been acquitted by the court but could not pay a "discharge fee."

In 1774, Howard persuaded the House of Commons to pass acts decreeing that discharged prisoners were to be set free, discharge fees abolished, and that justices were required to look after the health of prisoners. The acts were never fully enforced.

Embarking on a campaign, Howard toured jails in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and in 1777, published his findings in a book entitled State of the Prisons in which he outlined the horrors of prison life. Howard found that many prisons might have an inch or two of water on their floors, and that inmates often had no straw as bedding. Straw they did have was often wet. Very little water was afforded prisoners for drinking and washing. Even during the winter in London jails, Howard observed, there were no fires to keep inmates warm. The jailers were not paid by the local government but were maintained by fees paid by the prisoners. Howard found prisoners chained, often in darkness, for even minor offenses. Howard took methodical notes and even weighed the food allotted to prisoners. Howard's published work aroused public opinion and many reforms stemmed from his efforts.

His research in England led him to evaluate prisons all over Europe where he also investigated prison diseases, such as typhus and smallpox, known to run rampant in prisons. Through Howard's efforts, the relationship between unsanitary prison conditions and "jail fever," an illness that later killed him, became apparent.

Many of the reforms Howard sought and won prepared a path for other sanitary reformers in the nineteenth century by showing that once aroused, public opinion could change social conditions and improve the public's health.

Among the reforms Howard won in England in 1779 were statutes that authorized the building of two prisons where, through solitary confinement, supervised labor, and religious instruction, jailers attempted to rehabilitate prisoners.

Howard's public health reform interests also led him to investigate hospitals, particularly in France, where he reported that five or six patients, some of them dying, might share a bed. Howard recommended many hospital reforms, including fans to provide ventilation, and the separation of the sick based on their illnesses.

In 1786, Howard purposely traveled to Italy aboard a ship known to be carrying disease and was subsequently quarantined so that he could better understand the experience of quarantine. Howard was quarantined for forty-two days in quarters he reported were like the "sick wards of the worst hospitals."

His last investigation led him to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, and the Ukraine where, in 1790, while visiting Ukrainian military prisons he died of jail fever.

RANDOLPH FILLMORE