The Life Extension Institute was an organization formed in the
United States in 1913 with the philanthropic goal of prolonging human life through hygiene and disease prevention. Its organizational officers included many celebrity-philanthropists such as
William Howard Taft,
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
, and
Mabel Thorp Boardman
Mabel Thorp Boardman (October 12, 1860 – March 17, 1946) was an American philanthropist involved with the American Red Cross. She led the Red Cross in the United States following its receiving congressional charter in 1905 until World War I ...
but also genuine medical experts including
William James Mayo
William James Mayo (June 29, 1861 – July 28, 1939) was a physician and surgeon in the United States and one of the seven founders of the Mayo Clinic. He and his brother, Charles Horace Mayo, both joined their father's private medical practice ...
,
Russell Henry Chittenden, and
J. H. Kellogg
John Harvey Kellogg (February 26, 1852 – December 14, 1943) was an American medical doctor, nutritionist, inventor, health activist, eugenicist, and businessman. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. T ...
and a "Hygiene Reference Board" of dozens of nationally recognized physicians of that era such as
Mazÿck Porcher Ravenel and
Major General William Crawford Gorgas.
A major project of the institute which fulfilled its mission to disseminate knowledge was publication of the book
How to Live, Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science', now in the
public domain.
The institute was a proponent of
eugenics including sterilization of grossly "unfit" individuals:
See also
*
Life extension
Life extension is the concept of extending the human life expectancy, lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled oldest people, limit of 125 years.
S ...
References
External links
NMN Supplement For Optimal Longevity
Life extension
Alexander Graham Bell
Public health education
1913 establishments in the United States
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