A monograph of the British writer Tessa West "The Curious Mr Howard: Legendary Prison Reformer"was published in Great Britain this year. The book is about well-known English philanthropist, infectious disease researcher, prison reformer John Howard (1726-1790). Howard's life is closely related to Kherson: here he lived and worked, and here he found his final rest.

In 2010 Tessa West visited Kherson to complete the collection of materials for her book. She was interested in Kherson period of John Howard's life. Kherson CCI organized for Mrs. West the meetings with Kherson local historians, archival research, visits to museums, libraries and monuments associated with Howard.

The Kherson CCI and the Kherson City Council are searching for possibilities to translate «The Curious Mr Howard» from English. Tessa West's book breaks fresh ground by looking at both Howard's legacy in terms of prison reform as well as his fascinating character. With respect to his contribution to European society development and human rights promotion, in tribute to the memory of John Howard in a land of his burial, it would be a good thing to make this book accessible to Ukrainian readers. «The Curious Mr Howard» shows that John Howard deserves to be remembered as a far greater figure in social history than many people might suspect.

John Howard was born on September 2, 1726 in London.  He was the son of a prosperous middle class family and inherited a welfare, which he used for philanthropic activities: improving and humanizing of prison conditions, education and housing for the poor, control of epidemic diseases. John Howard was appointed High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1773. Pursuant to his duties, Howard inspected the county prison himself. He was shocked by what he found, and spurred into action to inspect prisons throughout England. In 1774 he initiated the parliamentary approval of two laws from which the reform of prison affairs in England had been started. Having visited several hundred prisons across England, Scotland, Wales and wider Europe, Howard published the first edition of "The State of Prisons in England and Wales" that drew public attention to the malignant conditions of prisoners' detention. For many years he traveled across Europe studying and improving the state of prisons, hospitals, antiplague quarantine facilities. He was allowed to visit cells, dungeons and torture chambers, to talk to the gaolers, turnkeys and even the prisoners themselves. A talented physician, after his arrival to Kherson in 1989, Howard was involved in abortion of typhus epidemic and exacted respect and devotion from citizens. As he visiting patients, he was infected with typhus and died on January 20, 1790.  He was buried on the shores of the Black Sea in a walled field at Dophinovka (Stepanovka), Kherson. On the main Kherson street – Ushakov prospect (ex-street Govardovskaya) – in remembrance of John Howard there was built a sun-dial monument.