Jesse Mercer Gehman

Jesse Mercer Gehman (January 17, 1901 – 1976) was an American naturopath, vegetarianism activist and amateur wrestler associated with the natural hygiene and physical culture movement.

Biography

Gehman graduated from the American College of Naturopathy and Chiropractic in 1925."The Jesse Mercer Gehman Photo Collection". Texas Archival Resources Online. He obtained a doctorate in natural philosophy in 1931. He was a vegetarian and wrote articles for the American Vegetarian-Hygienist and the Health and Strength magazine.

Gehman was Chairman of the First American Vegetarian Convention held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1949.Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). Vegetarian America: A History. Praeger Publishing. p. 161. He was Vice-President of the International Vegetarian Union (1960–1977), he was also President of the American Naturopathic Association."Dr. Jesse Mercer Gehman". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 26 April 2019. Gehman was Benedict Lust's successor. He wrote an authorized biography of Lust, but the work was never published.Kirchfeld, Friedhelm; Boyle, Wade. (1994). Nature Doctors: Pioneers in Naturopathic Medicine. Medicina Biológica. p. 10. Gehman worked as an associate editor for Bernarr Macfadden's Physical Culture magazine. He founded his own naturopathic resort near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Whorton, James C. (2003). Benedict Lust, Naturopathy, and the Theory of Therapeutic Universalism. Iron Game History 8 (2): 22–29. Gehman was a founding member of the American Natural Hygiene Society."ANHS Founders" . National Health Association. Retrieved 26 April 2019.

Gehman was an anti-vaccinationist. He commented that naturopaths do not believe in "vaccination, inoculation, contagion, infection or drugs of any kind." His best known work Smoke Over America, examined the dangers of tobacco smoke. It was negatively reviewed in The Sanitarian journal as "poorly organized, unscientific, over-written."Ben Meyr, Berl. (1945). Reviewed Work: Smoke Over America by Jesse Mercer Gehman. The Sanitarian 8 (1): 26–27. He was secretary of the Citizens Medical Reference Bureau from the 1930s–1950s, which had connections to the Anti-Vaccination League of America.Colgrove, James. (2006). State of Immunity: The Politics of Vaccination in Twentieth-Century America. University of California Press. p. 55, p. 267. He recommended clean living, exercise, fasting and a vegetarian diet to treat cancer, he commented that "the cure of cancer is in simple natural physical culture living"."Cancer Causes and Cures by Ruth Sackman". Retrieved 26 April 2019.

Gehman was an amateur wrestler, under the name Jim Mercer. His brother was "Atomic" Marvin Mercer, a heavyweight wrestling champion.Bow, Guy Le. (1950). The Wrestling Scene. Homecrafts Sports Division. p. 31"Marvin Mercer Wrestling History". Retrieved 26 April 2019.

Publications

Smoke Over America (1943) A Commemorative and Descriptive Book on the Light of Naturopathy (1947) Living Today for Tomorrow (1947) Is Smoking Harmful? (1950) Why?: Use Suncooked Juice Foods Daily (1959)

Jesse Mercer Gehman

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