Reverend William Cowherd (1763–1816) was a priest serving the town of Salford, immediately west of Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, and one of the philosophical forerunners of The Vegetarian Society, founded in 1847. Cowherd advocated and encouraged members of his then small group of followers, known as 'Cowherdites' to abstain from the eating of meat. The denomination he founded was formally known as The Bible Christian Church (not to be confused with Methodist sect of the same name based in the South-west of England. His early ideas and insight into the abstinence from eating meat, provided the basis for early ideas about vegetarianism. This message was later preached in the U.S. as some 41 members of the Bible Christian Church crossed the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 in 1817.

Influence

Cowherd is credited with being the main figure advocating the theory of vegetarianism. It is noted that he asked his congregation in a sermon preached on January 18, 1809, to refrain from eating meat which culminated in the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847. His church - Christ Church - was located in King Street, Salford

City of Salford

The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...

, just across the River Irwell from Manchester.