Thomas Tryon (6 September 1634 – 21 August 1703) was an English merchant and writer who wrote several popular self-help books and was an early advocate of animal rights and vegetarianism.

[6] He traveled to Barbados hoping to succeed in his hat trade and to profit from greater religious tolerance there, but was shocked by the cruelty of slavery in the plantations.

[9] In the last two decades of his life, he published twenty-seven works on a wide range of subjects, including education, nutrition, abstinence from alcohol and tobacco and other health issues, and treatment of slaves.

[16] Tryon's ideas on historical and philosophical matters were heavily influenced by ancient Pythagoreanism, Hinduism, and the teachings of German occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

[18] According to him, the main tenets of that faith were pacifism and nonviolence to animals; benevolence to all species and vegetarianism were prerequisites for spiritual progress and a possible restoration of Paradise.

[24][25][26] He commented that man "would fain be an absolute Monarch or arbitrary Tyrant, making nothing at his pleasure to break the Laws of God, and invade and destroy all the Rights and Priviledges of the inferiour Creatures.