John Howard (1726-1790) was an English philanthropist whose work to improve prison conditions is continued today by the Howard League for Penal Reform.
Short Biography:
On his appointment as high sheriff for Bedfordshire in 1773, he undertook a tour of English prisons which led to two acts of Parliament in 1774, making jailers salaried officers and setting standards of cleanliness.
After touring Europe in 1775 he published his State of the Prisons in England and Wales, with an account of some Foreign Prisons in 1777.
He died of typhus fever while visiting Russian military hospitals at Kherson in the Crimea.
Why is John Howard famous?
John Howard was a philanthropist and the first English prison reformer.