Anthony Comstock
Anthony Comstock\xa0(March\xa07, 1844 \u2013 September\xa021, 1915) was an American anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice\xa0(NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian morality. He opposed obscene\xa0literature, abortion, contraception, masturbation, gambling, prostitution, and patent medicine. The terms comstockery\xa0and comstockism\xa0refer to his extensive censorship\xa0campaign of materials that he considered obscene, including birth control\xa0advertised or sent by mail. He used his positions in the U.S. Postal Service\xa0and the NYSSV (in association with the New York police) to make numerous arrests for obscenity and gambling. Besides these pursuits, he was also involved in efforts to suppress fraudulent\xa0banking schemes, mail swindles, and medical quackery.[2]