John B. Gough

Location: Section 35

Although later in his life he lived at 'Hillside' in Boylston, English-born temperance lecturer John Gough "was always pleased to speak of himself as a citizen of Worcester." In October 1842, in Worcester's old Town Hall, the twenty-five-year-old Gough "...signed the total abstinence pledge, and resolved to free myself from the inexorable tyrant - rum." Gough's commitment to the temperance movement and his skill as a lecturer took him all over the world. Between 1843 and 1869, he delivered more than 6,000 public addresses on the evils of drink, claiming to have obtained over 200,000 pledges in the first ten years. Gough died in February 1886 while lecturing on the evils of drink. His funeral service was held at Mechanics Hall where his portrait hangs.