Jackson, James Caleb (1811-1895)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

James Caleb Jackson was born 28 March 1811 in  Manlius, New York. He was a nutritionist and active member of the "water cure" movement; the hydrotherapy spa in Danville New York that he ran with Harriet Newall Austin from 1858 became one of the largest and best known in the world. Tea, coffee, alcohol, and tobacco wwre prohibited along with meat. Jackson promoted a diet based on vegetables, fruit, and unprocessed grains and, in 1863, he developed "Granula": the first dry breakfast cereal. Jackson was an Abolitionist and owner of abolition newspaper Albany Patriot, a Temperance and dress reform advocate, and a supporter of women’s rights; he connected most of these issues through Christianity: the duty to make the body and mind as healthy as possible as a reflection of the divine. Jackson writes about meat as a stimulating product akin to tea, coffee, and condiments; he argues that meat eating, especially if a portion of meat is tainted (which the individual consumer cannot determine), can lead to problems in the blood and nervous system. He died in Dansville on 11 July 11 1895.

James C. Jackson is not to be confused with James Jackson (1777-1867), who was also a doctor.

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