Martin Luther Holbrook (February 3, 1831 - August 12, 1902) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

activist associated with the

natural hygiene Orthopathy (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ὀρθός ''orthos'' 'right' and πάθος ''pathos'' 'suffering') or natural hygiene (NH) is a set of alternative medicine, alternative medical beliefs and practices originating from the ''Nature Cure ...

and physical culture movements.

Biography

Holbrook was born in Mantua Township, Portage County, Ohio.Anonymous. (1902)
''Dr. Martin Luther Holbrook''
''

The Publishers' Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishing, publishers, librarians, bookselling, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The Internat ...

'' 62 (1594): 249-250. Holbrook graduated from Ohio Agricultural College and edited the '' Ohio Farmer'' (1859-1861).Hoolihan, Christopher. (2001). ''An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 1''. University of Rochester Press. p. 460-465. During 1861–1863, Holbrook worked with

Dio Lewis Diocletian Lewis (March 3, 1823 – May 21, 1886), commonly known as Dr. Dio Lewis, was a prominent temperance leader and physical culture advocate who practiced homeopathy. Biography Early life He was born on a farm near Auburn, New York.This ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to promote physical culture and hygiene. He graduated from Lewis's Normal School of Physical Culture. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and obtained his medical degree from the Hygeio-Therapeutic College in 1864. Holbrook was coproprietor of the New Hygienic Institute at Laight Street in New York City, the property was previously

Russell Trall Russell Thacher Trall (August 5, 1812 – September 23, 1877) was an American physician and proponent of hydrotherapy, natural hygiene and vegetarianism. Trall authored the first American vegan cookbook in 1874. Biography Trall was born in Ver ...

's water-cure institution.Weiss, Harry Bischoff; Kemble, Howard R. (1967). ''The Great American Water-Cure Craze: A History of Hydropathy in the United States''. The Past Times Press. p. 83Whorton, James C. (2016 edition). ''Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers''. Princeton University Press. pp. 139-140. A

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

was located at the institute. He was a founder of Miller, Wood and Holbrook firm and Miller, Wood & Co publishers of medical books. He later published under his own name, M. L. Holbrook and was an important publisher of medical and hygienic literature up until the 1890s. The printing press was located at Laight Street in New York City. It shared the same address as Russell Trall's New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College. Holbrook was a vegetarian and promoted abstinence from

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

.Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). ''Vegetarian America: A History''. Praeger Publishing. p. 119. He translated the German raw food book ''Fruit and Bread'' by

Gustav Schlickeysen Gustav Schlickeysen (September 9, 1843 – 1893) was a German Naturopathy, naturopath and Raw foodism, raw food advocate. Biography In 1875, Schlickeysen attacked meat-eating for causing militarism and a "roaming, savage and warlike life".Treit ...

. The book promoted a fruitarian diet of uncooked fruits, grains and nuts. Holbrook was an advocate of chastity. His 1894 book on the subject recommended a physical culture regimen to increase the body's strength and diminish "morbid craving for unnatural and unreasonable indulgence of the passional nature." He was a prominent

eugenicist Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

and authored the 1897 book ''Stirpiculture'', later re-printed as ''Homo-Culture''. Holbrook's ''Eating for Strength'', published in 1888 contains several hundred vegetarian recipes.

''The Herald of Health''

From 1866, Holbrook was a long-term editor for

's ''The Herald of Health'' (it became the ''Journal of Hygiene'' in 1893).Brodie, Janet Farrell. (1994). ''Contraception and Abortion in Nineteenth-century America''. Cornell University Press. p. 338. He edited the journal until 1898. It was a very popular journal. In 1898, the journal was renamed ''Omega'' and was edited by Holbrook and Charles Alfred Tyrrell. It merged with ''Physical Culture''.

Selected publications

Holbrook's publications can be found in the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

.
''Parturition without Pain: A Code of Directions for Escaping the Primal Curse''
(1874)
''Hygiene of the Brain and Nerves and the Cure of Nervousness''
(1878)
''How to Strengthen the Memory''
(1886)
''Dr. Holbrook's American Cookery''
(1888)
''Eating for Strength''
(1888)
''Physical, Intellectual, and Moral Advantages of Chastity''
(1894)
''Stirpiculture: Or, the Improvement of Offspring Through Wiser Generation''
(1897)
''Homo-Culture: Or, the Improvement of Offspring Through Wiser Generation''
(1899)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbrook, Martin 1831 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American physicians American celibacy advocates American cookbook writers American eugenicists American health and wellness writers American nutritionists American temperance activists American vegetarianism activists Anti-smoking activists Hydrotherapists Ohio State University alumni Orthopaths People associated with physical culture Tea critics Vegetarian cookbook writers