James Caleb Jackson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Caleb Jackson
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | March 28, 1811 |
| Died | July 11, 1895 (aged 84) Dansville, New York, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Nutritionist |
| Known for | Inventing Granula |
| Spouse(s) | Lucretia Edgerton Brewster |
| Children | James Hathaway Jackson |
| Relatives | Katharine Johnson Jackson (daughter-in-law) |
James Caleb Jackson (born March 28, 1811 – died July 11, 1895) was an American nutritionist. He is famous for inventing the first dry, whole grain breakfast cereal, which he named Granula. His ideas about health greatly influenced Ellen G. White, who helped start the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Contents
A Life of Change
James Caleb Jackson was born in Manlius, New York. After finishing his studies at Chittenango Polytechnic Institute, he worked as a farmer. He married Lucretia Edgerton Brewster when he was 19 years old.
Fighting for Freedom
Early in his life, Jackson was very active as an abolitionist. This means he worked to end slavery in the United States. He gave talks for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and became its secretary in 1840.
From 1844, he started working in journalism. He bought an abolitionist newspaper called the Albany Patriot with Abel Brown. Jackson managed and wrote for the paper until 1847. He had to stop because his health was not good.
The Water Cure
Jackson had health problems for much of his life. But he got much better after trying a "water cure" at a spa in 1846–1847. This spa was run by Silas O. Gleason in Cuba, New York.
Because of this amazing recovery, Jackson spent the rest of his life promoting hydropathy, which is a type of treatment using water. He trained to become a physician and opened his own water cure center. This was at Glen Haven on Skaneateles Lake in 1847.
Our Home on the Hillside
In 1858, Jackson took over a health spa called 'Our Home Hygienic Institute'. It was located in Dansville, New York. This spa had been started a few years earlier by Nathaniel Bingham.
Under Jackson's leadership, the spa grew a lot. It became one of the biggest in the world, helping about 20,000 patients. He renamed it 'Our Home on the Hillside'. Jackson's wife, known as "Mother Jackson," and their adopted daughter, Dr. Harriet Newell Austin, helped him run the spa.
The health resort was a family business for many years. Jackson's son, James Hathaway Jackson, and his grandson, James Arthur Jackson, also led the facility later on. By 1890, the family called it the Jackson Sanatorium. It was also known as the Jackson Health Resort.
Healthy Eating and Granula
Besides water cures, Jackson strongly believed that what you eat was super important for good health. Over time, he removed red meat from the spa's menu. He also banned tea, coffee, alcohol, and tobacco.
Jackson was a vegetarian. He encouraged a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed grains. While he accepted surgery when needed, he was against using drugs.
In 1863, he created the very first breakfast cereal. He called it Granula.
James Caleb Jackson passed away on July 11, 1895, in Dansville, Livingston County, New York.
See also
- Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), created graham cracker.
- John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943), started flaked breakfast cereals at his spa.
- Charles William Post (1854–1914), created postum as a patient of Kellogg.
- Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867–1939), created muesli.
