Alexander Wilder - Revision history

Janet Kerschner: /* Writings */

2025-05-23T09:22:26Z

Writings

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 Dr. Wilder wrote about medicine, Theosophy, religions, symbolism, ancient languages, and many other topics. He translated the Bible into six languages.<ref>New York Medical College Alumni Association. "Deaths" ''The Chironian'' 25 no. 4 (October, 1908), 121-122.</ref>
 === Books ===
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 K. Paul Johnson and Patrick D. Bowen published a volume of selected correspondence with [[Thomas Moore Johnson]]:
 * '''''Letters to the Sage: Selected Correspondence of Thomas Moore Johnson, Volume Two: Alexander Wilder, The Platonist'''''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018. Introduction by Ronnie Pontiac. Glossary by Erica Georgiades.
 === Correspondence ===

SysopJ: /* Work on Isis Unveiled */

2023-01-30T15:01:31Z

Work on Isis Unveiled

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	== Work on ''Isis Unveiled'' ==		== Work on ''Isis Unveiled'' ==

	During ~~1886~~ and ~~1887~~, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky\|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote her first major work, [[Isis Unveiled (book)\|''Isis Unveiled'']] and then reworked it with the assistance of [[Henry Steel Olcott\|Colonel Olcott]]. She wrote,		During 1876 and 1877, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky\|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote her first major work, [[Isis Unveiled (book)\|''Isis Unveiled'']] and then reworked it with the assistance of [[Henry Steel Olcott\|Colonel Olcott]]. She wrote,
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	When the work was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alexander Wilder, the well-known scholar and Platonist of New York, who after reading the matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for publication. Next to [[Henry Steel Olcott\|Colonel Olcott]], it is Professor Wilder who did the most for me. It is he who made the excellent ''Index'', who corrected the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew words, suggested quotations and wrote the greater part of the ''Introduction'' 'Before the Veil.' If this was not acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, but because it was Dr. Wilder's express wish that his name should not appear except in footnotes. I have never made a secret of it, and every one of my numerous acquaintances in New York knew it."		When the work was ready, we submitted it to Professor Alexander Wilder, the well-known scholar and Platonist of New York, who after reading the matter, recommended it to Mr. Bouton for publication. Next to [[Henry Steel Olcott\|Colonel Olcott]], it is Professor Wilder who did the most for me. It is he who made the excellent ''Index'', who corrected the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew words, suggested quotations and wrote the greater part of the ''Introduction'' 'Before the Veil.' If this was not acknowledged in the work, the fault is not mine, but because it was Dr. Wilder's express wish that his name should not appear except in footnotes. I have never made a secret of it, and every one of my numerous acquaintances in New York knew it."

SysopJ: /* Later years */

2022-12-15T18:11:06Z

Later years

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	== Later years ==		== Later years ==

	Dr. Wilder lived in New York for some years, but by 1880 had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where the air was more healthful.<ref>U.S. Census, 1870 and 1880.</ref><ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 160.</ref>		Dr. Wilder lived in New York for some years, but by 1880 had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where the air was more healthful.<ref>U.S. Census, 1870 and 1880.</ref><ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 160.</ref> In the mid 1890s he became associate editor of ''The Metaphysical Magazine'', like [[C.H.A. Bjerregaard]].

	He died on [[September 19]], 1908, in Newark, New Jersey.		He died on [[September 19]], 1908, in Newark, New Jersey. An obituary in the ''New York Herald'' said:
			<blockquote>
			Because of his unusually sound knowledge of Latin and Greek Dr. Wilder was enabled to take the lead in many philosophical discussions which were founded upon the works of the ancients, and throughout his literary life he was held in high esteem by students of philosophy.<ref>Anonymous, "The Death of Dr. Alexander Wilder" '' New York Herald'' (September 20, 1908). Quoted in ''Theosophical Review'' (November, 1908), 269.</ref>
			</blockquote>

	== Tributes and influence ==		== Tributes and influence ==

SysopJ: /* Occupations and higher education */

2022-05-02T20:21:20Z

Occupations and higher education

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	as a reporter on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>		as a reporter on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>

	It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York.		It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York.

			<blockquote>
			Dr. Wilder had two significant classmates in 1867. One was Dr. E.W. Kellogg, who went on to be Mark Twain’s personal physician and the brother-in-law of Yung Wing, the first Chinese student to receive a diploma from a U.S. university, Yale 1854. (Despite being a naturalized citizen married to a white woman, Dr. Kellogg’s sister, Wing was retroactively stripped of his citizenship under anti-Chinese legislation in the 1870s.) And the other ... was Dr. M.A. Raheem ... [who] came from Calcutta/Kolkata and earned his M.D. with a dissertation on “The Fevers of India.” M. A. must surely be an abbreviation for the Muslim theophoric name Muhammad Abdul Rahim, which would make him, possibly, the first Muslim to receive an M.D. in the United States.<ref>Nicholas Webb email to Janet Kerschner. May 2, 2022. Mr. Webb is Archivist & Digital Preservation Librarian at the Health Sciences Library, New York Medical College (successor to Homeopathic Medical College). Email in Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
			</blockquote>

	== Political offices and "Boss" Tweed ==		== Political offices and "Boss" Tweed ==

SysopJ: /* Articles */

2022-04-10T13:18:56Z

Articles

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	=== Articles ===		=== Articles ===

	The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=Alexander+Wilder&method=all over 60 articles by or about Wilder]. He was associate editor of the '''''Metapyhsical Magazine''''' and contributed many articles. He also wrote for '''[[The Word (periodical)\|''The Word'']]'''.		The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=Alexander+Wilder&method=all over 60 articles by or about Wilder]. He was associate editor of the '''''Metapyhsical Magazine''''' and contributed many articles. He also wrote for '''[[The Word (periodical)\|''The Word'']]''' and frequently for '''[[The Platonist (periodical)\|''The Platonist'']].

	* "The Ganglionic Nervous System," ''Intelligence'' (February and March, 1898). Wilder posited that "this system preceded the cerebro-spinal nervous system and is the germ of everything that is afterward developed."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.7 (March, 1898), 253.</ref> He claimed "it is the first thing created in our bodies, the last which is palsied by death."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.8 (April, 1898), 288.</ref>		* "The Ganglionic Nervous System," ''Intelligence'' (February and March, 1898). Wilder posited that "this system preceded the cerebro-spinal nervous system and is the germ of everything that is afterward developed."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.7 (March, 1898), 253.</ref> He claimed "it is the first thing created in our bodies, the last which is palsied by death."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.8 (April, 1898), 288.</ref>
	* '''"How "Isis Unveiled" Was Written"'''. ''The Word'' 7.2 (May 1908). ~~Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu2-ap3.htm Theosophical University Press Online]~~		* '''[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/isis/iu2-ap3.htm "How "Isis Unveiled" Was Written"''']. ''The Word'' 7.2 (May 1908).

	=== Correspondence ===		=== Correspondence ===

SysopJ: /* Articles */

2022-04-10T13:16:46Z

Articles

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	=== Articles ===		=== Articles ===

	The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=Alexander+Wilder&method=all over 60 articles by or about Wilder]. ~~In addition, he contributed many articles to~~ '''''Metapyhsical Magazine''''' and '''[[The Word (periodical)\|''The Word'']]'''.		The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=Alexander+Wilder&method=all over 60 articles by or about Wilder]. He was associate editor of the '''''Metapyhsical Magazine''''' and contributed many articles. He also wrote for '''[[The Word (periodical)\|''The Word'']]'''.

	* "The Ganglionic Nervous System," ''Intelligence'' (February and March, 1898). Wilder posited that "this system preceded the cerebro-spinal nervous system and is the germ of everything that is afterward developed."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.7 (March, 1898), 253.</ref> He claimed "it is the first thing created in our bodies, the last which is palsied by death."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.8 (April, 1898), 288.</ref>		* "The Ganglionic Nervous System," ''Intelligence'' (February and March, 1898). Wilder posited that "this system preceded the cerebro-spinal nervous system and is the germ of everything that is afterward developed."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.7 (March, 1898), 253.</ref> He claimed "it is the first thing created in our bodies, the last which is palsied by death."<ref>Anonymous, "Book Reviews," ''Mercury'' 4.8 (April, 1898), 288.</ref>

SysopJ: /* Occupations and higher education */

2022-04-10T13:13:19Z

Occupations and higher education

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	The young man tried farming to please his father, then worked as a typesetter and a lumberjack. Always interested in medicine, Wilder sent to Syracuse in January 1851 to attend a medical meeting. "I had already taken part in forming a medical society in Oneida county and served two years as its secretary." The new Syracuse Medical College was lacking in instructors, and Wilder was asked to give a lecture on the physiology of the cells. He taught briefly at the college, but the pay was meager and Wilder's views of medical treatment were not in accord the rest of the faculty. After a year working as a compositor at a newspaper, Wilder was appointed as editor of a monthly journal for a State Association of teachers. He conducted Teachers' Institutes [training] in Illinois and New York, and helped establish the Normal School [teacher training college] at Bloomington, Illinois. Then in 1857, he taught for a year in the School of the Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen. Finally in 1857 he found an occupation that continued for thirteen years,		The young man tried farming to please his father, then worked as a typesetter and a lumberjack. Always interested in medicine, Wilder sent to Syracuse in January 1851 to attend a medical meeting. "I had already taken part in forming a medical society in Oneida county and served two years as its secretary." The new Syracuse Medical College was lacking in instructors, and Wilder was asked to give a lecture on the physiology of the cells. He taught briefly at the college, but the pay was meager and Wilder's views of medical treatment were not in accord the rest of the faculty. After a year working as a compositor at a newspaper, Wilder was appointed as editor of a monthly journal for a State Association of teachers. He conducted Teachers' Institutes [training] in Illinois and New York, and helped establish the Normal School [teacher training college] at Bloomington, Illinois. Then in 1857, he taught for a year in the School of the Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen. Finally in 1857 he found an occupation that continued for thirteen years,
	as a ~~report~~ on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>		as a reporter on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>

	It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York.		It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York.

	== Political offices and "Boss" Tweed ==		== Political offices and "Boss" Tweed ==

SysopJ at 13:12, 10 April 2022

2022-04-10T13:12:09Z

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	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	The family had few books and the town lacked a library, but in ~~1935~~, when the school's library was expanded, the children took full advantage. Alexander, at age 15, joined three brothers and a sister as teachers in the district schools. He studied Latin and Greek to prepare for college,		The family had few books and the town lacked a library, but in 1835, when the school's library was expanded, the children took full advantage. Alexander, at age 15, joined three brothers and a sister as teachers in the district schools. He studied Latin and Greek to prepare for college,
	aspiring to become a cleric [his parents' strong preference] or a physician.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 73-79.</ref>		aspiring to become a cleric [his parents' strong preference] or a physician.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 73-79.</ref>

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	as a report on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>		as a report on the ''Evening Post''.<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 158-159.</ref>

	It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York. Meanwhile, for several sessions of the state legislature, Wilder served as clerk of a committee, meeting many prominent politicians of the day. In 1871 he was made a candidate for Alderman in New York, in the movement against the Boss Tweed political machine, serving one term.		It was during this period that he was able to complete his higher education, and was graduated at the age of 44 in 1867 from Homeopathic Medical College of New York.

	~~He lived~~ in New York ~~for some years~~, ~~but~~ by ~~1880 had moved~~ to ~~Newark~~, ~~New Jersey~~, ~~where~~ the ~~air~~ was ~~more healthful~~.<ref>U.S. ~~Census~~, ~~1870 and 1880~~.</ref>~~<ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 160.~~</~~ref~~>		== Political offices and "Boss" Tweed ==

			During this same period of time, Wilder served as clerk of a committee for several sessions of the state legislature, meeting many prominent politicians of the day. In 1871 he was made a candidate for Alderman in New York, in the movement against the Boss Tweed political machine, serving one term.

			<blockquote>
			He was a member of that Board of Aldermen which took office January 1, 1872, when it was resisted by the old Board of Aldermen, to dislodge which the Courts were called upon. It was at a meeting of the new Board of Aldermen that Abraham Lawrence delivered the speech in which the doom of "Boss" Tweed was forecasted. Dr. Wilder served through the exciting year in which Samuel J. Tilden's civil suit for $6,000,000 brought against Tweed precipitated the investigation which ended with Tweed's sentence to prison. The so-called "Court House jobs" and other cases of corruption were looked into by the Aldermanic body of which Dr. Wilder was a member and in which he joined with those Aldermen who were opposed to Tweed and the "Tweed ring".<ref>New York Medical College Alumni Association. "Deaths" ''The Chironian'' 25 no. 4 (October, 1908), 121-122.</ref>
			</blockquote>

	[[File:Alexander Wilder 1900.jpg\|right\|200px\|thumb\|Alexander Wilder, circa 1900]]		[[File:Alexander Wilder 1900.jpg\|right\|200px\|thumb\|Alexander Wilder, circa 1900]]

SysopJ: /* Later years */

2022-04-10T12:56:56Z

Later years

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	== Later years ==		== Later years ==

	Dr. Wilder died on [[September 19]], 1908, in Newark, New Jersey.		Dr. Wilder lived in New York for some years, but by 1880 had moved to Newark, New Jersey, where the air was more healthful.<ref>U.S. Census, 1870 and 1880.</ref><ref>Alexander Wilder, “Notes for His Life’s History”, 160.</ref>

			He died on [[September 19]], 1908, in Newark, New Jersey.

	== Tributes and influence ==		== Tributes and influence ==

SysopJ: /* Writings */

2022-04-10T12:55:12Z

Writings

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:55, 10 April 2022
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	== Writings ==		== Writings ==

	Dr. Wilder wrote about medicine, Theosophy, religions, symbolism, ancient languages, and many other topics.		Dr. Wilder wrote about medicine, Theosophy, religions, symbolism, ancient languages, and many other topics. He translated the Bible into six languages.<ref>New York Medical College Alumni Association. "Deaths" ''The Chironian'' 25 no. 4 (October, 1908), 121-122.</ref>

	=== Books ===		=== Books ===