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Martin Luther Holbrook

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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
BornFebruary 3, 1831
DiedAugust 12, 1902 (aged 71)
Occupation(s)Physician, writer
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