Lewis Gompertz (1783/4–1861) was an early animal rights advocate, a vegan, and a founding member in June 1824 of the English Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, later the RSPCA.He was the author of Moral Inquiries on the Situation of Man and of Brutes (1824) and Fragments in Defence of Animals (1852).
Gompertz acted as the SPCA's second Honorary Secretary prior to resigning in 1833, for reasons related to organizational power struggles and his Judaism. He went on to found the Animals' Friend Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was opposed to using animals in any way, was an anti-vivisectionist, and refused to ride in horse-drawn carriages.
