Vegetarian in print
First known appearance of 'vegetarian'
In 1841, students at the experimental school Alcott House (later renamed Concordia, though the building would retain Alcott’s namesake) began to print pamphlets called The Healthian, which would eventually be consolidated into an annual volume. The Healthian is the first known publication to print the word “vegetarian” in April 1842.
Vegetarian, the word that would become synonymous with those compassionate individuals who abstain from eating the flesh of animals, first appeared in a section called Flesh Diet in Volume 1, No. 5 of The Healthian, in April 1842. If you click on the picture, you peruse the editor's answer to "Barbara's Letter" in the Flesh Diet piece.
Harvard University
<a href="http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3udv;view=1up;seq=38">Hathi Trust Digital Library</a>
London : J. Cleave, 1842-1843.
1842
1 v. ; 23 cm.
Alcott House
London experimental school
<p>Bronson Alcott's compassionate emphasis on plant-based diets and his progressive teaching philosophies inspired students across the pond to open Alcott House, an experimental school in London constructed <span>on theories and philosophies that Alcott built his successful Temple School around in Boston. </span></p>
<p><span>From 1838-1848, Alcott House worked to promote spiritual health through purification of the soul, which included a steadfast abstinence from animal products. This image shows the garden of Alcott House. </span></p>
<p><span>Students at the school, including <a title="Charles Lane" href="http://jaa12j.omeka.net/items/show/14" target="_blank">Charles Lane</a> who would co-found Fruitlands with Alcott, maintained a strict vegetarian, celibate, stimulant-free lifestyle. </span></p>
<p><span>It was from within Alcott House that journals known as </span><a title="The Healthian" href="http://jaa12j.omeka.net/items/show/12" target="_blank">The Healthian</a><span> were published. The earliest known printed use of "vegetarian" appeared in an issue of the periodical.</span></p>
<p>From there after, people connected to the Alcott House began promoting the benefits of Alcott's vegetable diet by using the word vegetarian.</p>
Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin), 1831-1917
<a href="https://archive.org/details/bronsonalcottat01sanbgoog">Library of Congress B908.A54 S22</a>
Cedar Rapids, Ia., The Torch press
1908
NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
The Healthian
The earliest known use of vegetarian in print
<p>The Healthian was a "journal of human physiology, diet, and regimen" that was written by the great thinkers living in the Alcott House. The Alcott House was created in London, England, and was based on the principles and philosophies which American Transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott taught at his most famous teaching experiment, Temple School.</p>
<p>In 1841 the students began to print pamphlets called The Healthian, which would eventually be consolidated into an annual volume. The writings matched Alcott's vegetarian principles and advocated for the animal-free lifestyle that we know today as "vegan." </p>
<p>This is a screenshot of Volume 1, No. 1 of The Healthian, "a journal of human physiology, diet, and regimen." A quote by Amos Bronson Alcott can be seen before the introduction. <span>The word "vegetarian" first appeared in a section called Flesh Diet in Volume 1, No. 5 of The Healthian, in April 1842. </span></p>
(original from Harvard University)
<a href="http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3udv;view=1up;seq=38">Hathi Trust Digital Library</a>
London : J. Cleave, 1842-1843.
1842
1 v. ; 23 cm.