Ernest Bell (activist)

Ernest Bell
A vintage photograph of a man with a full beard and moustache, wearing a polka-dotted bow tie, a high-collared shirt, and a dark suit, looking to the side with a serious expression.
Portrait from Fifty Years of Food Reform (1898)
Born8 March 1851
Died14 September 1933 (1933-09-15) (aged 82)
Hendon, Middlesex, England
EducationTrinity College, Cambridge (BA, 1873; MA, 1876)
Occupation(s)Publisher, writer, activist
Spouses
Elize Wilhelmina Wolfel
(m. 1875; died 1881)
Marie Anna von Taysen
(m. 1893)
Children1
FatherGeorge Bell
AwardsLifetime award for his work for animal causes

Ernest Bell (8 March 1851 – 14 September 1933) was an English publisher, writer and activist. He was an advocate for animal rights and welfare, vegetarianism, and humanitarian causes.

Bell was born in 1851 in Hampstead. Educated at St Paul's School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he graduated with a BA in 1873 and an MA in 1876. Bell's commitment to animals began in his university years, joining the RSPCA and adopting vegetarianism. He married twice, first to Elize Wilhelmina Wolfel and later to Marie Anna von Taysen, and had one daughter. Bell dedicated much of his life to his father's publishing company, George Bell & Sons, and was an early follower of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He actively contributed to various reform causes, editing and launching publications, and leading organisations such as the Vegetarian Society, Humanitarian League, and several animal protection societies. Bell co-founded the League Against Cruel Sports in 1924 and received a lifetime award for his advocacy work. He died in 1933 at the age of 82. In 1936, the Ernest Bell Library was established by the Vegetarian Society to preserve his writings.