John Ellis

John Ellis was an American doctor and medical writer born in 1815 and dead in 1896. Library and digitized-book records identify him as John Ellis, M.D., and connect him with works including The Avoidable Causes of Disease, Insanity, and Deformity, first published in 1860 and reissued in later editions.

The title pages of his books present him as Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine in the Western Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio. His writing was aimed beyond the medical profession alone: The Avoidable Causes of Disease, Insanity, and Deformity describes itself as "a book for the people as well as the profession," which fits his broad, public-facing style.

Ellis wrote in the 19th-century tradition of preventive health reform, urging readers to think about hygiene, physical development, marriage, and daily conduct as matters that shaped health. Some of his ideas reflect the assumptions of his time, but his books remain notable as examples of how physicians tried to bring medical advice to a wide public audience.