Margaret Darst Corbett (January 17, 1889 – December 5, 1962)''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume G''
New York: James T. White & Company, 1946. p. 103 was an American who promoted the discredited Bates method in an attempt to improve eyesight. She became famous after her prosecution and acquittal on a charge of practicing medicine without a license. Ophthalmologists dismissed Corbett's ideas as

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

Life

Corbett was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1889, to Edward Washington Darst and his wife Minnie Ann. Corbett graduated B.S. from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

in 1911. She trained teachers at Idaho State Normal School during 1911–1913. During

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was a yeoman first class in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. She married Daniel Lithgow Corbett, who died in 1930. She died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, December 5, 1962.

Methods and teaching

Margaret Corbett met Dr. William H. Bates after consulting him about her husband's eyesight. She became interested in his approach and became his pupil, and eventually taught his methods in her

"School of Eye Education". Her specific techniques included the classic Bates method drills, such as sunning, shifting and swinging. She also, like Bates, placed great emphasis on mental drills, and one's attitude to seeing. Amongst her many pupils was

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

, who as a result of his education by Corbett was inspired to write ''

The Art of Seeing ''The Art of Seeing: An Adventure in Re-education'' is a 1942 book by Aldous Huxley, which details his experience with and views on the discredited Bates method, which according to Huxley improved his eyesight. Huxley's own sight In the pre ...

''. In 1946, Corbett's had 250 trained teachers working at multiple branches across the United States. The Bates-Corbett Teachers Association was headquartered in El Cajon, California.Melton, J. Gordon. (1990). ''New Age Encyclopedia''. Gale Research. p. 62

Prosecution and acquittal

In late 1940 Corbett and her assistant were charged with violations of the Medical Practice Act of California for treating eyes without a licence. At the trial, many witnesses testified on her behalf. They described in detail how she had improved their sight and had enabled them to discard their glasses. Corbett explained in court that she was practising neither optometry nor

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

and represented herself not as a doctor but only as an "instructor of eye training". The trial attracted widespread interest, as did the "not guilty" verdict. A bill was introduced into the Californian State Legislature to outlaw such vision education by any practitioner who lacked an optometric or medical license. After a lively campaign in the media, the bill was defeated.

Criticism

Established optometrists and ophthalmologists continue to be unimpressed by Corbett's work. Speaking of her work, amongst others, Philip Pollack wrote

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Margaret Darst 1962 deaths 1889 births Bates method Schoolteachers from Idaho 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators University of California alumni