Henry Bergh (August 29, 1813 – March 12, 1888) founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in April, 1866, three days after the first effective legislation against animal cruelty in the United States was passed into law by the New York State Legislature. Bergh also prompted the formation, in 1874, of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC).

Life

Henry Bergh was born August 29, 1813, in New York City, to Christian Bergh III and Elizabeth Bergh. His father, an ethnic German, was a successful shipbuilder who had completed a series of contracts for the government. Henry Bergh joined his father in 1835 at the C. Bergh & Co., shipbuilding business. Upon his death in 1843, he left a large estate to the benefit of the three Bergh children, including Henry.

In 1873, Bergh conducted a national lecture tour taking him across the American West.

Death and legacy

thumb|Bergh's mausoleum at [[Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City]]

Bergh died on March 12, 1888, in New York City. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow eulogized Bergh as "among the noblest in the land, Though he may count himself the least, That man I honour and revere, Who without favour, without fear, In the great city dares to stand The friend to every friendless beast." Henry Bergh is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

A 1982 children's book about Bergh, The Man Who Loved Animals, was written by Syd Hoff.

In the spring of 2006 at Green-Wood Cemetery, while making preparations to honor Bergh, the ASPCA discovered that his wife was also in that mausoleum. On May 6, substantive ceremonies were held before a large audience which was allowed to bring their pets into the cemetery – including dogs, for the first time in over a century. The NYPD Emerald Society bagpipers and ASPCA HLE Agents were there also. After a walk to Bergh's tomb, the bas-relief statue was revealed that now rests in front. At the same time as these ceremonies, in the cemetery's large chapel building an exhibit was opened celebrating the history of the ASPCA and Henry Bergh.

Literary works

Tales and sketches

  • "The Streets of New York"
  • "The Portentous Telegram"

Plays

  • A Decided Scamp

See also

  • Henry Bergh (sculpture), an 1891 statue by American artist James H. Mahoney

Footnotes

Further reading

  • Sydney H. Coleman. (1924). Henry Bergh: Founders of the Anticruelty Cause in America. In Humane Society Leaders in America. The American Humane Association, 1924.
  • Ernest Freeberg, A Traitor to his Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement. New York: Basic Books, 2020.
  • Nancy Furstinger, Mercy: The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA and Friend of Animals. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
  • Gary Kaskel, Monsters and Miracles: Henry Bergh's America. Infinity Publications, 2013.
  • Mildred Mastin Pace, Friend of Animals: The Story of Henry Bergh. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1942.
  • Zulma Steele, Angel in Top Hat. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1942, a popular biography of Bergh.
  • Bernard Oreste Unti. "The quality of mercy: Organized animal protection in the United States, 1866–1930" (PhD dissertation,. American University;  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2002. 3048289).
  • BridgeportMath.org – Henry Bergh and P.T. Barnum
  • ASPCA.org – 'The life of Henry Bergh,' a biography at ASPCA.org
  • Unitarianism in America – Henry Bergh
  • Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography – Henry Bergh