Quimby, Phineas P(arkhurst) (1802-1866)
Quimby, Phineas P(arkhurst) (1802-1866)
An early influential exponent of Mind Cure, later known as New Thought. Born February 16, 1802 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, he became a clockmaker before becoming interested in Mesmerism in 1838. He had great success in treating patients but eventually developed his own system based on mental influence. He practiced in Portland, Maine, from 1859 on, treating some 12,000 individuals during seven years.
Several of Quimby students, such as Warren Felt Evans (1817-1899), went on to pursue careers that built on Quimby's insights. Another student, Marry Baker Eddy (1821-1910), dropped Quimby's approach and developed her own system of spiritual healing which she termed Christian Science. One of Eddy's students, Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849-1925), brought a number of Eddy's former students together and created the New Thought Movement.
Quimby died January 16, 1866.
Sources:
Quimby, Phineas P. The Complete Writings. Edited by Ervin Seale. 3 vols. Marina del Rey, Calif.: DeVorss & Co., 1987.
——. The Quimby Manuscripts. Edited by Horatio Dresser. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1919. Reprint, New York: Julian Press. 1961.