Thomas Richard Allinson was an English physician, dietetic reformer, businessman, journalist and vegetarianism activist.
18 Facts About Thomas Allinson
2.
Thomas Allinson was a proponent of wholemeal bread consumption.
3.
Thomas Allinson's name is still used today for a bread popular in Europe, Allinson bread.
4.
Thomas Allinson went to school in Lancaster and Manchester and at fifteen began work as a chemist's assistant.
5.
Thomas Allinson graduated as a Licenciate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1879.
6.
Thomas Allinson advocated a vegetarian diet and the avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea.
7.
Thomas Allinson especially promoted the benefits of stone-ground wholemeal breads.
8.
Thomas Allinson opposed the use of drugs by doctors, many of which at that time were ineffective and toxic and was a lifelong opponent of compulsory vaccination against smallpox.
9.
Thomas Allinson became medical editor of the Weekly Times and Echo in 1885, for which he wrote over 1000 articles during his life, as well as answering readers' medical queries.
10.
Thomas Allinson wrote a number of books and pamphlets directed at a general rather than medical readership, including A System of Hygienic Medicine, How to avoid Vaccination, The Advantage of Wholemeal Bread, Medical Essays and A Book for Married Women and books on stomach diseases, consumption, rheumatism, vegetarian cooking and healthy diet.
11.
Thomas Allinson gave frequent public lectures throughout the country propounding his ideas.
12.
Thomas Allinson believed that smoking was a cause of cancer, which was a radical idea at the time.
13.
Thomas Allinson regularly sought publicity for his theories and practices in the press and directed his energies not just towards his colleagues but directly to the public.
14.
In 1888, Allinson married Anna Pulvermacher, an artist who exhibited at the Royal Academy; they had one daughter and three sons, including Bertrand P Allinson and Adrian Allinson.
15.
In 1911, Thomas Allinson bought the failing magazine Vanity Fair from Frank Harris.
16.
Thomas Allinson failed to revive its fortunes and, in 1914, Vanity Fair merged with Hearth and Home.
17.
Thomas Allinson's company flourished from the increased demand for whole-grain bread and meal.
18.
Thomas Allinson died from tuberculosis, at his home in Marylebone, on 29 November 1918.