Henry S. Tanner (doctor)
British born American physician

Henry Samuel Tanner (February 7, 1831 - December 28, 1918) was an eclectic doctor who advocated fasting. He fasted for 40 days in Manhattan, New York City in 1880.
Biography
He was born on February 7, 1831, in England to Hannah and Samuel Tanner. He was a graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati (class of 1859). He claimed to have completed a 42 day fast in 1879, but was unable to prove it. On June 28, 1880, he began a forty-day fast in Manhattan. His first meal after completing the fast was milk, watermelon, and half a pound of beefsteak. On his 81st birthday, in 1911 he proposed an 80 day fast in Los Angeles, California. He died on December 28, 1918, in San Diego, California.
The fast
On June 28, 1880, Tanner began a forty days’ fast at Clarendon Hall in Manhattan.
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