Biography:
– Born in Mantua Township, Portage County, Ohio
– Graduated from Ohio Agricultural College
– Worked with Dio Lewis in Boston on physical culture and hygiene
– Obtained medical degree from Hygeio-Therapeutic College in 1864
– Founder of Miller, Wood and Holbrook firm
The Herald of Health:
– Long-term editor for Russell Tralls’ The Herald of Health
– Edited the journal until 1898
– Journal became Omega in 1898
– Merged with Physical Culture
– Very popular journal
Selected publications:
– Publications available in New York Public Library
– Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform
– The Great American Water-Cure Craze: A History of Hydropathy in the United States
– Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers
– Vegetarian America: A History
Notable works:
– Eating for Strength; or, Food and Diet in Their Relation to Health and Work
– The first Turkish baths in the USA: New York: Manhattan: Laight Street
– Contraception and Abortion in Nineteenth-century America
– Stirpiculture; Or the Improvement of Offspring Through Wiser Generation by M. L. Holbrook
– Viva! Health: What is Vegetarianism?
Legacy:
– Advocated for vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol, coffee, meat, tea, and tobacco
– Promoted a fruitarian diet of uncooked fruits, grains, and nuts
– Strong advocate of chastity and physical culture regimen
– Authored books on eugenics and health reform
– Important publisher of medical and hygienic literature until the 1890s
Martin Luther Holbrook (February 3, 1831 - August 12, 1902) was an American physician and vegetarianism activist associated with the natural hygiene and physical culture movements.
Martin Luther Holbrook | |
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Born | February 3, 1831 |
Died | August 12, 1902 (aged 71) |
Occupation(s) | Physician, writer |