John Bowdler

John Bowdler (1746–1823) was a campaigner for moral reform in Britain and a founder of the Church Building Society. His brother and sister were the editors of the expurgated Family Shakspeare. Early life He was born at Bath, Somerset on 18 March 1746, the son of Thomas Bowdler and Elizabeth, née Cotton, second daughter and coheiress of Sir John Cotton, 6th Baronet. John Bowdler (known as the elder to distinguish him from his son John) was the eldest son of this marriage. His mother, who wrote 'Practical Observations on the Revelations of St. John' (Bath, 1800; written in 1775), was noted for piety and culture; and she gave all her children religious training. John Bowdler attended several private schools. His brother Thomas Bowdler the elder and sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler would become well known as the expurgators of Shakespeare. In November 1765 Bowdler was placed in the office of Mr. Barsham, a special pleader; and he practised as a chamber conveyancer between 1770 and 1780. In January 1778 he married Harrietta, eldest daughter of John Hanbury, vice-consul at Hamburg.