Frederic Richard Lees

Frederic Richard Lees (15 March 1815 – 29 May 1897) was an English activist and writer. He was an advocate for temperance and vegetarianism.

Frederic Richard Lees was born in Meanwood, near Leeds.

Lees signed the antispirits pledge in 1832 and became teetotaller in 1835. He worked as a temperance activist and authored books on the subject. In 1837, he became the Secretary for the British Association for the Promotion of Temperance (British Temperance League) and edited its journal from 1840 to 1844. Lees also edited the Truth-Seeker from 1844 to 1850, the Teetotal Topic, in 1847, and the Temperance Spectator, in 1859. He was a founding member of the United Kingdom Alliance in 1863.

Lees was a vegetarian and occasionally lectured on vegetarianism. In 1857, he won a Vegetarian Society essay competition which was republished in 1884. He became an associate member of the Society in 1874.

Lees obtained an honorary doctorate from University of Giessen for his writings against Owenism.

Lees married Mercy Joanna Jowett on 22 October 1838 at St Peter's Church in Leeds and they had two children; she died in 1870. In 1878, he married Sarah Barnesley (née Brooks), who died in 1889.

Lees died on 29 May 1897, in Halifax, West Yorkshire.