Dr. Arthur Hill Grimmer was a famous homoeopath of the United States of America who was not only an ardent follower of Dr. Kent, but was fortunate enough to have the privilege of using the same office as that of Dr. J.T. Kent’s in Chicago. He was born on 29th August 1874, in San Jose, California, USA, in a large family.
Upbringing
Dr. Arthur Hill Grimmer was the eldest of nine siblings in his family. His parents were not very financially well but were known to be careful with money and were very industrious. As a child, his time was often distributed between household chores and playtime. After Grimmer’s sixth birthday, the family moved to San Francisco. Here, Dr. Grimmer attended his first public school. While attending school, he supported his family by selling newspapers in various public places throughout San Francisco. This job also served as an experience for him. After about 2 years, the family decided to move to Oakland, California, where he finished his primary schooling.
When he was 12 years old, his father decided to settle his family on 160-acre land in the mountains of Northern California in Lake County. This area was famous for the quicksilver mines. Just 2nd year after they had arrived on this huge forest land, Dr. Grimmer’s father had suffered an injury due to a fall and left him crippled for the rest of his life. This unfortunate incident however added another responsibility of family on the eldest member of the family, Dr. Grimmer, who was just 14 years old at the time.
The life here for the next 12 years was not easy. The family had to suffer many difficulties as money and supply of necessities were limited. But on the contrary, the natural supply with respect to fruits and berries was great. The initial years were filled with only a little flour, corn meals, coffee and sugar. Later, however, they were able to afford some farm animals such as chickens, poultry and cattle. His family hence learnt how to cope with nature and its elements and the changing seasons.
For Dr. Grimmer, his early years were filled with tedious hard work. Dr. Grimmer secured his first job to provide for the large family on a vast ranch. He did the work of a mucker which is removing the dirt and rock, for 8 dollars per month. Over the next three years, his younger brothers found similar jobs and the family was able to survive better.
A Well-Read Person
Despite the hardships, Dr. Grimmer had a positive outlook on the situation. His father possessed a library which had an amazing collection of books. Dr. Grimmer himself was a voracious reader. He read books on science and literature, ancient and modern history. Every night from his 14th to 34th year of life he allocated hours to reading, sacrificing his sleep time. He used to sleep for just 5 hours a night. He respected his father’s tutoring efforts, for he was successfully able to pass his high school examination.
A Homoeopathic Prodigy
His father himself used to practise Homoeopathy with 60 polychrest medicines using the Johnsons Family Guide. Dr. Grimmer knew the indications of the 60 remedies by heart by the age of 7 years. He wished to become a homoeopath from an early age; it is said that he even cured some sick at the age of eight.
Dr. J. E. Hoffman of Healdsburg, California guided him and ignited in him the fire of medical education. He encouraged him to study at Hering Medical College, Chicago. Thus, believing his words, Dr. Grimmer left for further studies in September 1902. He graduated in 1906 at the age of 32 years. Here, he studied under Dr. James Tyler Kent, becoming his favourite student, later the secretary and a close friend. He also aided Dr. Kent in the formation of Kent’s repertory and conducted small quizzes on the part of Dr. Kent before his graduation. It was from Dr. Kent that Dr. Grimmer learnt about the philosophical writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
When Dr. Kent fell sick and was unable to attend his Saturday clinic in Chicago at Hahnemann’s College, the responsibility of continuing Dr. Kent’s exhaustive practice was assigned to Dr. Grimmer. His clinic was opened in 1906 and he spent more than 50 years in Chicago teaching and practising Homoeopathy.
It is estimated that Dr. Grimmer treated several thousand cases of cancer in his practice. He also used radionics and electronic homoeopathy in his treatment.
Literary Contributions
Though Dr. Grimmer did not publish a single book during his long career, he wrote about 200 articles, including 29 devoted to Homoeopathic Materia Medica and 73 to various homoeopathic remedies.
The book The Collected Works of Arthur Hill Grimmer, was compiled and edited by Ahmed Currim and Audrey Grimmer, the daughter of Dr. Grimmer, posthumously.
He has literary works on cancer treatment, Cadmium and its salts and other drugs. He also spoke out against the fluoridation of water, vaccinations, adulterations, antibiotic drugs, poison sprays, food contaminations etc, and their contribution to the production of chronic diseases.
His other works are:
Gnaphalium
Homoeopathic Prophylaxis
Homoeopathic Medicine
The Cancer Problem: The Homoeopathic Solution
Demise
Dr. Grimmer retired in 1959 in Chicago and moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, where he passed away on 5th March 1967, at the age of 93 years.
Author
Prof. (Dr.) Subhas Singh1, Dr. Rumsha Tamkeen2, Dr. Vaishnavi Achrekar2, Dr. Vignesh S.2, Dr. Jyotidarshanee2, Dr. Binay Pratap Singh2.
- Director, National Institute of Homoeopathy, Kolkata
- PGT, National Institute of Homoeopathy, Kolkata
