Larkin Baker Coles (1803 – 1856) was an American physician, minister, Millerite preacher, anti-tobacco activist and vegetarian.
Larkin Baker Coles | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1803 |
| Died | 1856 |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, minister |
Biography edit
Coles was born in New Hampshire.[1] He graduated from Castleton Medical College in 1825. He trained as a minister and was associated with William Miller.[1] Coles married Sarah Marshall Dyar on February 14, 1827. They had five children of whom two died in early youth.[2] He resided in Boston in 1844 and joined the Boston Medical Society and the Massachusetts Medical Society.[1]
Coles' best known work was Philosophy of Health, first published in 1848 which went through many editions.[3] It had sold 35,000 copies during its first 5 years. The twenty-sixth edition appeared in 1851. The book espoused Christian health reform with arguments for exercise, fresh air, vegetarianism, non-use of stimulants, sexual purity and drugless medicine. Coles defended vegetarianism from a nutritional, physiological and religious basis.[3]
Coles died in January 1856, whilst visiting Louisville, Kentucky.[1]
Anti-tobacco activism edit
Coles was an early crusader against tobacco. He authored The Beauties and Deformities of Tobacco-Using in 1853, which described tobacco as "a deadly narcotic".
Influence on Ellen G. White edit
Coles's health views influenced Ellen G. White.[1] White frequently lifted passages from Coles's work without attribution.[1][4][5]
Selected publications edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Numbers, Ronald L. (2008). Prophetess of Health: A Study of Ellen G. White. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 108-110. ISBN 978-0-8028-0395-5
- ^ Dyar, Harrison G. (1903). A Preliminary Genealogy of the Dyar Family. Washington, D.C. p. 17
- ^ a b 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. 187. ISBN 1-58046-098-4
- ^ Armstrong, David. (1991). The Great American Medicine Show. Prentice Hall. p. 102. ISBN 978-0133640274
- ^ Davis, Robert. (2008). The Healthy Skeptic: Cutting through the Hype about Your Health. University of California Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-520-24918-9