About John Howard:  John Howard was born in Lower Clapton London the son of a wealthy upholsterer. His mother died when he was very young and after his father died the young John Howard, a rather strict Calvinist, found himself without vocational training, a disdain for the the English aristocratic lifestyle, and little direction. He began to travel and while in Hanover he was captured by French privateers and imprisoned. It was this experience that made him consider the conditions in which prisoners were held.

In 1758 Howard returned to England and settled in Cardington, Bedfordshire. As a landowner he was philanthropic and enlightened, ensuring that his estate housing was of good standard and that the poor houses under his management were well run.

In 1773 he became High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. On his appointment he began a tour of English prisons which led to two Acts of Parliament in 1774, making gaolers salaried officers and setting standards of cleanliness. Howard also toured European prisons and published 'State of the Prisons in England and Wales, with an account of some Foreign Prisons' (1777).

Howard died of fever while visiting Russian military hospitals at Kherson in the Crimea. Howard's work is continued today by the Howard League for Penal Reform.