Catherine Tjeerda Nimmo (22 September 1887 – 22 January 1985) was an American

chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

naturopath Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

activist.

Biography

Nimmo was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

.Austin, Linda; Hammond, Norm. (2010). ''Oceano''. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. She was a registered nurse and

Doctor of Chiropractic Chiropractic education trains students in chiropractic. The entry criteria, structure, teaching methodology and nature of chiropractic programs offered at chiropractic schools vary considerably around the world. Accredited Doctor of Chiropractic p ...

. She moved to

Oceano, California Oceano (Spanish: ''Océano'', meaning "Ocean") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 7,183 at the 2020 census, down from 7,286 at the 2010 census. Geography Oceano is locat ...

in 1948. Nimmo was a vegetarian but became vegan in 1931 after witnessing a mother cow and her calf on opposite sides of a road, separated by fencing."Throwback Thursday: Dr. Catherine Nimmo, Vegan Pioneer"
American Vegan Society. Retrieved 6 October 2021. In 1948, Nimmo and Rubin Abramowitz formed the first vegan organization in the United States known as the U.S. Vegan Society in

. The Society lasted from 1948 to 1960 and was a predecessor to the

American Vegan Society The American Vegan Society (AVS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes veganism in the United States. It was founded in 1960 by H. Jay Dinshah. The date of the earlier The Vegan Society (UK)'s founding, November 1, is now celebr ...

. Nimmo distributed copies of the UK's

The Vegan Society The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan organization in the world, founded in the United Kingdom in 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie Shrigley, George Henderson and his wife Fay Henderson among others. History In Novembe ...

magazine and corresponded with Freya Dinshah and

H. Jay Dinshah Hom Jay Dinshah (November 2, 1933 – June 8, 2000) was an American veganism activist and natural hygiene proponent who was the founder and president of the American Vegan Society and the editor of its publication the ''Ahimsa'' magazine (1960� ...

. She joined the American Vegan Society and was its first paid member. She authored articles for the American Vegan Society magazine, which at that time was called ''Ahimsa''. Nimmo cared for animals in Oceano and was made an honorary lifetime member of the Humane Society. Nimmo died from natural causes in

Arroyo Grande, California Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a town in San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. History The earliest inhabitants of Arroyo Grande Valley were the northern or Obispeno Chumash Indians ...

on 22 January 1985, age 97.''Catherine T. Nimmo''. ''Santa Maria Times'' (January 24, 1985). p. 20

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimmo, Catherine 1887 births 1985 deaths American chiropractors American animal rights activists American veganism activists Naturopaths Physicians from Rotterdam