Vegetarian History

A chronological account - links to large collections of articles.

Note - these are not just lists of 'famous vegetarians' - they are people with a view on the subject, the articles explain whether they put those veiws into practice.

The diet of early humans
- the views of naturalists, archaeologists and others

Ancient Greece and Rome (800 BCE - 325CE)
- Hesiod, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Diogenes, Epicurus, Ovid, Seneca, Plutarch, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus

Ancient India and The East (800 BCE - 232BCE)
- Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroaster, Buddhism and more

Jesus and the early Christians
- The Essenes, Clement of Alexandria and more

Europe: The Middle Ages to the 17th Century
- Monasteries, St.Francis of Assisi, Leonardo Da Vinci and many more

Europe: 18th Century
Newton, Cheyne. Swedenborg, Wesley, Rousseau, Bentham and more

North America: 18th Century
Franklin, Payne, Jefferson, Johnny Appleseed and more

England: Early 19th Century
- Percy Bysshe Shelley, Bible Christian Church, many more

Europe: Late 19th Century
- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Kingsford, Annie Besant, the formation of the Vegetarian Society UK, and more

USA: 19th Century
- Sylvester Graham, Henry David Thoreau

Asia and Pacific up to 1900
- Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Europe: Early 20th Century
- George Bernard Shaw, Albert Schweitzer, Hitler and much more

North America: early 20th Century
- Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Spock and more

Europe: late 20th Century
- Yehudi Mehuin, Linda McCartney, Poland, Oxford Vegetarians many more

North America: late 20th Century
- Toronto Vegetarian Association and more

Africa: 20th Century

Asia-Pacific: 20th Century

Latin America: 20th Century

India/South Asia: 20th Century

SW Asia (Middle East): 20th Century

Quotations and Poetry, mostly by Historical Characters


Compiled by John Davis