Syed Abulbar Rizvi, a founding member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and a lifelong advocate for animals, died peacefully in his sleep on February 15, 2026, in New York. He was 92.

An academic, engineer, and inventor, Syed built a distinguished professional life rooted in innovation. He became the first in his family to migrate from India to the United States, carving out a path defined by discipline, curiosity, and quiet determination. Yet those closest to him say his proudest work unfolded outside laboratories and lecture halls. Syed did not simply believe animals deserve respect. He lived it.

“Syed was kindness personified. He showed us how easy and important it is to live a life of empathy, and how it takes nothing from us to be good to other animals. He was one of the first to do it. He will be so missed.”

Lisa Lange, Senior Vice President of Communications for PETA, seen here with Syed and his nephew, Wamiq Jawaid, at an animal rights event in Los Angeles.

As a founding member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Syed helped build a movement that challenges cruelty and demands compassion for animals. He marched. He campaigned. He protested. He advocated not just for kinder treatment of our fellow animals—but for a complete shift in how humans view them. He insisted that every living being holds inherent worth.

“In the time I was given, I gave what I could to the Animal Rights movement for their liberation, and hopefully to build this World where compassion and empathy extends beyond our own species,” Syed Abular Rizvi wrote. “I have stood steadfast for [animals] right to live free from hardship, for them to be seen, and above all—for them to live with dignity. In their eyes, I saw innocence; in their suffering, purpose.”

Syed went vegan because he refused to participate in harm. Others watched and followed his lead. Compassion spreads that way—quietly, steadily, person to person.

When asked what message he would leave for future generations, he answered with a single word: “Compassion.”

Not success. Not power.

Compassion.

Syed showed us what that looks like. It looks like standing outside in the cold to protest cruelty. It looks like changing what’s on your plate because someone else’s life depends on it. It looks like using your voice when simply not saying anything would be easier.

“I did not seek perfection, only progress. I tried to make a difference—to leave this world kinder, more awake, and more just than I found it. If I succeeded in even a small way, I rest fulfilled. This life was a gift, and I lived it fully. I sought to understand, to protect, and in the end to return to the vast and loving mystery from which I came.”

Syed Abulbar Rizvi

Syed let his humble life stand as a quiet testament: that knowledge matters, that kindness counts, and that to live fully is to give yourself away—to truth, to love, and to the world.

“Syed was precious to us, and precious to all forms of life that he had the understanding and heart to embrace, to all he touched with his kindness. He was a truly special person, full of compassion and vision. His decision to be a vegan so as to cause the least harm to living beings proved an example to others who realized he was right and followed his lead. We will miss him very much, but we saw with our own eyes how the world and many of its inhabitants were the better for his passing through it.”

Ingrid Newkirk, Principal of PETA.

We can honor Syed by being more outspoken on behalf of animals, kind in our choices, and by never forgetting that every form of life matters.

Visit PETA.org/VSK for a free vegan starter kit and go vegan today.