John Davie (1800 – 1891) was a Scottish draper and activist for vegetarianism, temperance and several other causes.
Biography
John Davie was born in Stirling, in 1800. He later attained wealth as a draper and was a United Presbyterian elder. Davie became a vegetarian at the age of 46 and for some time was secretary of the Vegetarian Society. He was opposed to alcohol, tobacco, vaccination and vivisection; he was a supporter of Chartism, peace, women's suffrage, and hydrotherapy. In 1830, he and other members of the Dunfermline Temperance Society formed the first Total Abstinence Society in Scotland. He was later managing director and one of the originators of the Waverly Hydrotherapy Institution at Melrose.
In 1874, Davie, W. Gibson Ward, Isaac Pitman, and Francis William Newman were described as "four leading vegetarians" in England.
The Vegetarian Society presented an address to Davie in March 1890, to celebrate him reaching his 90th year. In September of the same year, Davie attended the 2nd International Vegetarian Congress in London.
Davie died in March 1891, at the age of 91; his wife died soon afterwards.
