Robert Bell (physician)

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Robert Bell

Born
Robert Bell

(1845-01-06)6 January 1845
Alnwick, England
Died20 January 1926(1926-01-20) (aged 81)
London, England
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
Occupation(s)Physician, writer
Medical career
Institutions
  • Glasgow Samaritan Hospital for Women
  • Battersea Anti-Vivisection Hospital
Sub-specialtiesGynaecology, oncology

Robert Bell

British Medical Journal
; Bell successfully sued Bashford and the journal for libel.

Biography

Bell was born in

Glasgow Samaritan Hospital for Women as a senior physician.[3]

Bell moved to London in 1904.[4] In 1909, he declined an offer of a baronetcy.[3] He was a council member of the Order of the Golden Age,[5] and the vice president of the International Cancer Research Society.[2] Bell advocated fasting and a diet of uncooked vegetables and fruit, along with eggs and dairy as an optimal diet for maintaining health.[3]

Bell later led cancer research at

Battersea Anti-Vivisection Hospital and worked to publicise his view that surgical treatment for cancer was unnecessary and that cancer was preventable by dietetic and hygienic measures.[4][6] Bell recommended his cancer patients fresh air and a vegetarian diet of uncooked vegetables, nuts and dairy products.[7] An article by the noted oncologist Ernest Francis Bashford published by the British Medical Journal, in 1911, accused Bell of quackery for his alternative cancer treatments; he successfully sued the author and journal for libel and was awarded £2,000 (equivalent to £210,663 in 2021) damages plus costs.[4][8]

In 1924, Bell published his autobiography, Reminiscences of an Old Physician.[9] He died in London on 20 January 1926, at the age of 81;[1] his funeral took place at Golders Green Crematorium.[10]

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Dr. R. Bell Dead". Queensland Times. 23 January 1926. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Dr. Robert Bell, M.D. (1846-1926)". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review. February 1926.
  4. ^
    PMID 2008122
    .
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ Bell, Robert (1924). Reminiscences of an Old Physician. London: J. Murray. pp. 2–3.
  8. ^ "Dr Robert Bell". The Guardian. 22 January 1926. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.

External links