William Tebb

William Tebb

William Tebb, English businessman and social reformer
Name	William Tebb
Birth name
Birth date	22 October 1830
Birth place	Manchester, England
Death date	23 January 1917
Death place	Burstow, Surrey, England
Alma mater
Occupation	Businessman, social reformer
Years active
Organization
Known for
Notable works
Spouse(s)
Website

William Tebb (22 October 1830 – 23 January 1917) was an English businessman and social reformer known for his vigorous opposition to vaccination and his advocacy for anti-vaccination movements. He was also involved in various social reform activities, including the campaign against compulsory vaccination and the promotion of cremation.

Early Life and Education

William Tebb was born in Manchester, England, in 1830. He was educated at a local school and later became involved in the family business. Tebb's early exposure to the industrial and social conditions of Manchester influenced his later work in social reform.

Career

Tebb initially pursued a career in business, but his interests soon turned towards social issues. He became a prominent figure in the anti-vaccination movement, which opposed the compulsory vaccination laws in place in the United Kingdom during the 19th century.

Anti-Vaccination Movement

Tebb was a leading member of the Anti-Vaccination League and the London Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination. He argued that vaccination was both ineffective and dangerous, and he campaigned for the repeal of laws mandating vaccination. Tebb's work in this area was controversial, as it went against the prevailing medical consensus of the time.

Advocacy for Cremation

In addition to his anti-vaccination efforts, Tebb was a proponent of cremation as an alternative to traditional burial practices. He believed that cremation was a more sanitary and efficient method of dealing with the dead. Tebb was a founding member of the Cremation Society of Great Britain and worked to promote the practice throughout the country.

Publications

William Tebb authored several works on vaccination and social reform, including:

• The Recrudescence of Leprosy and Its Causation (1893)
• A Century of Vaccination and What It Teaches (1898)

Legacy

Tebb's work in the anti-vaccination movement has been both criticized and studied as an example of early public health opposition. His advocacy for cremation, however, was more widely accepted and contributed to the eventual normalization of the practice in the UK.

Also see

• Anti-vaccination movement
• Cremation Society of Great Britain
• Compulsory vaccination
• Public health