On April 10, 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54.

In 1863, Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham
Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar
Alexander II. It was there that he was horrified to witness
work horses beaten by their peasant drivers.

On his way back to America, a June 1865 visit to the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in London
awakened his determination to secure a charter not only to
incorporate the ASPCA but to exercise the power to arrest
and prosecute violators of the law.
http://aspca.org

Henry Bergh (August 29, 1813 – March 12, 1888)