George Black (physician)
George Black | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1854 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | (aged 59) Torquay, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Organizations |
|
George Black (1854 – 5 May 1913) was a Scottish physician, medical writer, vegetarian activist, and hotelier. He operated Dartmoor House, a vegetarian hotel in Belstone, and wrote works on medicine, cookery and food reform.
Biography
[edit]Early life and medical career
[edit]Black was born in Edinburgh, where he obtained his M.B. He was Medical Officer of Health to the Keswick Urban Council.[1] He later worked as a medical doctor at Greta Bank on Greenway Road in Chelston, Torquay.[2]
Black was a member of the British Homoeopathic Society and contributed articles to homeopathic journals.[3] He wrote popular medical books, several of which went through multiple editions.[4] He edited Household Medicine, which has been cited for its advice on the number of hours of sleep needed according to age and physical health.[5]
In 1899, Black published Viscum Album: The Common Mistletoe, a work on the natural history of mistletoe and its use in the treatment of disease.[1]
Vegetarianism and Dartmoor House
[edit]Black became a vegetarian in 1896 for humanitarian reasons. He was an anti-vivisectionist and vice-president of the Devon branch of the Vegetarian Society.[6][7] He was also a supporter of the Order of the Golden Age.[3]
In 1899, Black purchased Dartmoor House in Belstone and converted it into a vegetarian hotel for his patients. The Vegetarian Society's annual picnic was held in the grounds of the house.[7] Isabel Densham worked as the hotel's vegetarian cook. Black's A Manual of Vegetarian Cookery, published in 1908, included Densham's recipes.[8]
Black spoke at the Vegetarian Society's May conference in Bristol in 1909.[9]
Food research
[edit]Black advocated whole foods and argued that white flour was harmful because the bran and wheat germ were removed.[10] He was a friend of James Henry Cook and worked as a scientific researcher for the Pitman Health Food Company. According to the International Vegetarian Union, Nuto Cream Soup and Nut Cream were invented under his direction; the products contained no cow's milk and required only the addition of water.[11] The Pitman Health Food Company also sold Vegsal, a medicinal salt obtained from vegetables through Black's research.[12]
Death
[edit]Black died at Greta Bank, Torquay, on 5 May 1913, aged 59.[13][14]
Publications
[edit]
- Household Medicine (1881)
- First Aid (1887)
- Sick-Nursing (1888)
- Some Physical Aspects of the Temperance Question (1890)
- Every-Day Ailments and Accidents, and Their Treatment at Home (1892)
- Viscum Album: The Common Mistletoe (1899)
- A Manual of Vegetarian Cookery (1908)
- The Doctor at Home and Nurse's Guide-Book (1909)
- The Doctor and Nurse's Guide (1910)
- The Olive: Its Medicinal and Curative Virtues (1910)
The Long Life Series
[edit]- Long Life and How to Reach It (1888)
- Sleep and How to Obtain It (1888)
- The Mouth and the Teeth (1888)
- The Skin in Health and Disease (1888)
- The Throat and the Voice (1888)
- The Young Wife's Advice Book (1888)
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Notes on Books". The British Medical Journal. 2 (2081): 1448. 1900. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.2081.1448. JSTOR 20266419. S2CID 220242093. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Vegetarianism and Health". Bird, Childs & Goldsmith. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- 1 2 "The Late Dr. Black". Herald of the Golden Age. 16 (7): 187. 1913.
- ↑ Hoolihan, Christopher (2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform. Vol. 3. University of Rochester Press. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6.
- ↑ Rigilano, Matthew J. (2017). "Waking the Living Dead-Man: The Biopolitics of Early Modern Sleep". Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies. 17 (4): 94. doi:10.1353/jem.2017.0027. JSTOR 90025244. S2CID 165623465. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Gregory, James Richard Thomas Elliott (May 2002). "Biographical Index of British Vegetarians and Food reformers of the Victorian Era". The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c.1840–1901: A Study of Its Development, Personnel and Wider Connections (PDF) (PhD thesis). Vol. 2. University of Southampton. p. 15. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- 1 2 "The Beacon" (PDF). Belstone Village. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ "The Evolving Relationship Between Food and Tourism" (PDF). Open Research Exeter. University of Exeter. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ↑ "The Vegetarian Society". Western Daily Press. 4 May 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "European Vegetarian Union News - Issue 3/98". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "A Reason for Celebration: 90 Healthy Vegetarian Years". EVU News (3). 1998. Retrieved 13 May 2026 – via International Vegetarian Union.
- ↑ "Vegsal" (PDF). Good Health. 7 (12): 384. 1909 – via Adventist Archives.
- ↑ "Black". Western Morning News. 7 May 1913. p. 1. Retrieved 13 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Deaths Jun 1913: Black, George". FreeBMD. ONS. 13 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
External links
[edit]
- 1854 births
- 1913 deaths
- 19th-century Scottish male writers
- 19th-century Scottish medical doctors
- 19th-century Scottish non-fiction writers
- 20th-century Scottish male writers
- 20th-century Scottish medical doctors
- 20th-century Scottish non-fiction writers
- Activists from Edinburgh
- British homeopaths
- British hoteliers
- People associated with the Order of the Golden Age
- People associated with the Vegetarian Society
- Scottish anti-vivisectionists
- Scottish medical writers
- Scottish temperance activists
- Scottish vegetarianism activists
- British vegetarian cookbook writers
- Writers from Edinburgh
- Writers from Torquay
