George Black
Born1854
Edinburgh
Died5 May 1913
Torquay
Occupation(s)Physician, writer

George Black (1854 – 5 May 1913) was a Scottish physician who operated a vegetarian hotel in Belstone called Dartmoor House.

Black was born in Edinburgh where he obtained his M.B. He was Medical Officer of Health to the Keswick Urban Council.[1] He worked as a medical doctor at Greta Bank on Greenway Road in Chelston, Torquay.[2] He became a vegetarian in 1896 for humanitarian reasons and was Vice-President of the Devon branch of the Vegetarian Society.[3][4] In 1899, he purchased Dartmoor House in Belstone and converted it into a vegetarian hotel for his patients. The Vegetarian Society's annual picnic was held at the grounds of the house.[4] The vegetarian cook at the hotel was Isabel Densham. In 1908, Black authored A Manual of Vegetarian Cookery featuring Densham's recipes.[5]

Black was an advocate of whole foods and suggested that white flour is detrimental to health because the bran and wheat germ are removed.[6] He was a friend of James Henry Cook and was a scientific researcher for the Pitman Health Food Company. Through his guidance Nuto Cream Soup and Nut Cream were invented which contained no cows milk and only needed the addition of water so were easily digested.[6] The Pitman Health Food Company also sold Vegsal, a medicinal salt obtained from vegetables through Black's research.[7]

Black was an anti-vivisectionist.[3] He was a member of the British Homoeopathic Society and contributed articles to homeopathic journals. He was a supporter of the Order of the Golden Age.[8]

Black authored popular medical books which went through many editions.[9] He was the editor of Household Medicine which is notable for prescribing the correct amount of hours one should sleep, depending on age and physical health.[10] In 1899, he authored Viscum Album: The Common Mistletoe which documented its natural history and scientific uses in the treatment of disease.[1]

He died in Torquay on 5 May 1913.

Selected publications

George Black editor of The Long Life Series

The Long Life Series

References

  1. ^ a b "Notes on Books". The British Medical Journal. 2 (2081): 1448. 1900. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.2081.1448. JSTOR 20266419. S2CID 220242093.
  2. ^ "Vegetarianism and Health". birdchildsandgoldsmith.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The Vegetarian Movement in Britain c. 1840-1901". eprints.soton.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b "The Beacon". belstonevillage.net. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ "The Evolving Relationship Between Food and Tourism". ore.exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b "A Reason for Celebration: 90 Healthy Vegetarian Years". ivu.org. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Vegsal" (PDF). Good Health. 7 (12): 384. 1909.
  8. ^ "George Black". Herald of the Golden Age. 16 (7): 187. 1913.
  9. ^ Hoolihan, Christopher. (2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 3. University of Rochester Press. pp. 74-75. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6
  10. ^ 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.
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