John Pounds (June 17, 1766 – January 1, 1839) was a teacher and altruist born in Portsmouth, and the man most responsible for the creation of the concept of Ragged schools. After Pounds' death, Thomas Guthrie (often credited with the creation of Ragged Schools) wrote his Plea for Ragged Schools and proclaimed John Pounds as the originator of this idea.
John Pounds was crippled after falling into a dry dock at Portsmouth Dockyard in his teens, and thereafter made a living as a cobbler. He would teach poor and homeless children Reading, Writing and Arithmetic at his small shop located in Highbury Street.
He was revered for his altruism and as a result, numerous places in Portsmouth are named after him.
