Charles Knowlton
| Charles Knowlton | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 10, 1800 |
| Died | February 20, 1850 (aged 49) |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Physician |
| Known for | Birth control |
Charles Knowlton (May 10, 1800 – February 20, 1850) was an American physician, atheist and writer.
Knowlton was born May 10, 1800 in Templeton, Massachusetts. His parents were Stephen and Comfort (White) Knowlton; his grandfather Ezekiel Knowlton, was a Captain in the revolution and a longtime state legislator. Knowlton attended local schools, then New Salem Academy. At age 18, he taught school briefly in Alstead, NH. As a young man, Knowlton was extremely concerned about his health. This led him to spend time with Richard Stuart, a “jack of all trades” in Winchendon who was experimenting with electricity. Knowlton married Stuart’s daughter, Tabitha, and his condition was instantly cured.
Knowlton studied medicine with several area doctors, and attended two terms of 14-week “medical lectures” at Dartmouth. He supplemented his education by digging up and dissecting corpses. Knowlton was awarded his M.D. in 1824, moved to Hawley, Massachusetts to begin his practice, and then served two months in the Worcester County jail for illegal dissection.
While in jail, Knowlton formulated ideas that he eventually published as Elements of Modern Materialism in 1829. The book challenges the religious dualism of body and spirit, and Knowlton presents a psychological theory that has been described as “early behaviorism.” Knowlton moved his family to North Adams, Massachusetts in 1827, to be closer to a printer. In the summer of 1829, he took “one-horse load” of books down to New York city. He failed to sell any, but probably visited local freethinkers like Robert Dale Owen. Knowlton named his second son Stephen Owen, after his father and his friend. Knowlton was convinced Modern Materialism would make him as famous as John Locke, whom he quotes on the title page.
In 1832, Knowlton moved his family and medical practice to Ashfield, Massachusetts. A year later, the town’s new minister, Mason Grosvenor, began a campaign against “infidelity and licentiousness,” targeting Knowlton as its source. Knowlton had written a little book called The Fruits of Philosophy, or the Private Companion of Young Married People, and had been showing it to his patients. It contained a summary of what was then known about the physiology of conception, listed a number of methods to treat infertility and impotence, and explained a method of birth control he had developed: to wash out the vagina after intercourse with certain chemical solutions.
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