Royal Samuel Copeland (November 7, 1868 – June 17, 1938), a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician.

He considered closing the theaters to have little effect in reducing the epidemic as long as the crowded transportation lines continued to operate.

[8]: 25  This had been a major issue in light of coal shortage earlier that year, numerous eviction cases around failure to provide heat, and the widespread 1918-1920 New York City rent strikes.

[5] Hospitals soon became overcrowded and Copeland then worked with New York's most famous public health nurse, Lillian Wald, to extend home care to the tenement neighborhoods as well.

[11] Copeland served a total of five terms of the New York City Board of Health, before taking office as a United States senator in 1923.

Copeland served as primary author and sponsor of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 which entrenched special protections for homeopaths.

He was the primary sponsor of the Copeland "Anti-kickback" Act, which targeted kickbacks to federal contractors, subcontractors and officials from construction employees.

In July 1937, Copeland proposed two rider amendments to the Interstate Commerce Act which would add an anti-lynching bill to the legislation.

[1] According to news reports, he died of a circulatory collapse brought on by overwork during the longer than usual Senate session that ended on the day of his death.

[22] Copeland was a member of several honor societies and fraternal organizations, including the Pi Gamma Mu international honor society in social sciences, which he served in various positions, Delta Kappa Epsilon, the New York Athletic Club, the National Democratic Club, the Elks, the Freemasons, the Ann Arbor Commandery No.

13, Knights Templar and Moslem Shrine Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, both in Ann Arbor, the Shriners, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Eugenics Committee of the United States of America.Israel W. Charny; Rouben Paul Adalian; Steven L. Jacobs; Eric Markusen; Marc I. Sherman (1999).