James John Garth Wilkinson (3 June 1812 – 18 October 1899), was an English

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

physician, social reformer, translator and editor of

Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ...

's works, and a writer on

Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...

topics.

Life

The son of James John Wilkinson (died 1845), a writer on mercantile law and judge of the County Palatine of Durham, he was born in London.Lines, Richard. (2001)
"James John Garth Wilkinson Author, Physician, Translator"
Swedenborgstudy.com. Retrieved 30 August 2021. Wilkinson studied medicine and worked at

Newcastle Infirmary The Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) is a 673-bed tertiary referral hospital and research centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with strong links to Newcastle University. The hospital is part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation T ...

and

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

. He was a Member of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

and a Licentiate of the

Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a me ...

in 1834. He became an independent medical practitioner at Store Street,

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many disti ...

in 1835. However, he became disillusioned with orthodox medicine and later took up homeopathy. Attracted by the works of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

, he studied the ''Songs of Experience''. He was also inspired by

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...

, to the elucidation of whose writings he devoted much of his life. He died at

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41 road, A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels oft ...

, South

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, where he had lived for nearly fifty years. He was commemorated by a bust and portrait in the rooms of the Swedenborgian Society in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

Street, London.

Works

Between 1840 and 1850 he edited Swedenborg's treatises on ''The Doctrine of Charity'', ''The Animal Kingdom'', ''Outlines of a Philosophic Argument on the Infinite'', and ''Hieroglyphic Key to Natural and Spiritual Mysteries''. Wilkinson's preliminary discourses to these translations and his criticisms of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

's comments on Swedenborg displayed an aptitude not only for mystical research, but also for original philosophic debate. The vigour of his thought won admiration from

Henry James, Sr. Henry James Sr. (June 3, 1811December 18, 1882) was an American Theology, theologian and the father of the philosopher William James, the novelist Henry James, and the diarist Alice James. Following a dramatic moment of spiritual enlightenment ...

(father of the novelist) and from

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

, through whom he met

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

and James Anthony Froude; and his speculation further attracted

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, the Oliphants and Edward Maitland. He wrote a sketch of Swedenborg for the ''

Penny Cyclopaedia ''The Penny Cyclopædia'' published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was a multi-volume encyclopedia edited by George Long (scholar), George Long and published by Charles Knight (publisher), Charles Knight alongside the ''Penn ...

'', and a standard biography, ''Emanuel Swedenborg'' (1849); but these were not his only interests. He was a traveller, a linguist, well versed in

Scandinavian literature Scandinavian literature or Nordic literature is the literature in the languages of the Nordic countries of Northern Europe. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway (including Svalbard), Sweden, and Scandinavia's associate ...

and

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

, the author of mystical poems entitled ''Improvisations from the Spirit'' (1857), a social and medical reformer, a convinced opponent of

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

and

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal test ...

. Wilkinson was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. Wilkinson criticized vivisection as unethical and unnecessary cruelty inflicted on animals in his book ''On Human Science: Good and Evil, and on Divine Revelation'', published in 1876. He was an advocate of

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

Anti-vaccination

Wilkinson was an

anti-vaccinationist Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...

. He contributed to '' The Vaccination Inquirer'' and completed a series of ''Vaccination Tracts'' in 1879.

Legacy

became a Swedenborgian,F. W. Dupee (1951), ''Henry James'', New York: Sloane. and named a son after Wilkinson: Garth Wilkinson James, also known as Wilkie James, an officer of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry under

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family from the Boston Brahmin, Boston upper class, he ...

Selected publications

''Emanuel Swedenborg: A Biography''
(1849)
''The Human Body and its Connexion With Man''
(1851)
''The Homoeopathic Principle Applied to Insanity''
(1857)
''On Human Science: Good and Evil, and on Divine Revelation''
(1876)
''Vaccination Tracts''
(1879)
''Epidemic Man and His Visitations''
(1893)
''The New Jerusalem and the Old Jerusalem''
(1894)

Notes

References

* * *

Sources

* Lines, Richard. "James John Garth Wilkinson 1812–1899: Author, Physician, Swedenborgian". ''Journal of the New Church Historical Society.'' Chester, 2002.
Available on-line.
* Wilkinson, Clement John. ''James John Garth Wilkinson.'' London, 1911.
Available on-line.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, James John Garth 1812 births 1899 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors English anti-vivisectionists British anti-vaccination activists English vegetarianism activists English animal rights scholars English Swedenborgians English translators English writers British homeopaths Medical doctors from London