John Howard (1726?–90)

Philanthropist. Apprenticed to a firm of wholesale grocers. Inherited sufficient funds from his father and his first wife to move to his father’s estate at Cardington, Bedfordshire, in 1756. Rebuilt most of the houses in Cardington for the benefit of his tenants. High sheriff of Bedfordshire, 1773. Undertook an extensive survey of gaols, and recommended penal reforms. Meteorological observer. FRS 1756.