James Tyler Kent(1849–1916)

Physician, professor of materia medica and author of the Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica and the Lectures

James Tyler Kent was the American physician whose Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1897) helped shape later repertories, and whose Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy define the classical, constitutional approach to prescribing.

M.D., Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati (1871)Professor of Materia Medica, Homoeopathic Medical College of Missouri (1881–1888)Dean, Hering Medical College, Chicago

About James Tyler Kent

James Tyler Kent was born in Woodhull, New York, in 1849 and graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati in 1871. He took up homeopathy after his first wife was treated successfully by a homeopathic physician, and joined the faculty of the Homoeopathic Medical College of Missouri in St. Louis in 1881.

Kent later taught at the Post-Graduate School of Homoeopathics in Philadelphia, at the Hering Medical College in Chicago, where he was dean, and at Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago. His Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica, first published in 1897, expanded the earlier repertories of Lippe and Boenninghausen into 37 chapters ordered from Mind to Generals with three grades of remedy.

His Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy (1900) and Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1905) set out a method that ranks the mental and general symptoms above the particulars and prescribes a single remedy in high potency on the whole person. Kent died in Stevensville, Montana, in 1916; his repertory has been revised and digitised continuously since.

On Similia

Search Kent's Repertory and read the Lectures free on Similia

Key works & contributions

Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica · 1897

The 37-chapter repertory, ordered from Mind to Generals with three remedy grades, that became the standard structure of homeopathic repertories and the basis of Synthesis and the Complete Repertory.

Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica · 1905

Kent's constitutional portraits of the remedies, given as lectures and read as the companion to his repertory.

Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy · 1900

Thirty-seven lectures on the Organon that set out the Kentian method: totality, hierarchy of symptoms, the single remedy and the high potency.

Areas of focus

RepertoryConstitutional prescribingHomeopathic philosophyHigh potenciesMateria medica

Frequently asked questions

Who was James Tyler Kent?

James Tyler Kent (1849–1916) was the American physician who wrote the Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica (1897) and the Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Philosophy, the foundation of classical, constitutional homeopathy.

What is Kent's Repertory?

A repertory of about 70,000 rubrics in 37 chapters ordered from Mind to Generals, with three grades of remedy. Murphy's Repertory, Synthesis and the Complete Repertory all inherit its structure.

Where can I use Kent's Repertory online?

Kent's Repertory is free to search on Similia with semantic search, and his Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica are in the free classic library.