Arthur Phelps

Lieutenant-General Arthur Phelps (24 October 1837 – 4 October 1920) was a Portuguese-born British General in the British Indian Army, civil engineer, homeopath and anti-vaccination activist.

Biography

Phelps was born in Funchal, Madeira. He was educated at The Market Bosworth School and later joined the British Indian Army, at Woolwich. He was posted to the 11th Bombay Native Infantry in 1853 and qualified as a surveyor in 1855. He studied at Poonah Military College and qualified as a civil engineer. Phelps was a vegetarian.

Phelps died at his home in Edgbaston on 4 October 1920. In 1910, Phelps debated Percy Kirkpatrick on vaccination. Phelps argued against vaccines, stating that sanitation was the only remedy for smallpox and other diseases. Phelps was the editor and owner of the Citizen newspaper which published anti-vaccination material.

Selected publications

The Psychology of Antivaccination (The British Medical Journal, 1901) The Imperial Vaccination League (The British Medical Journal, 1902)