But unfortunately, Eben would learn about his deadly mistake. He felt so great that he self-medicated and increased his dose rapidly, taking a whole bottle at a time.Īt the time, Radithor wasn’t regulated, and officials were unaware of any ill effects of radiation on the human body. Eben enjoyed pain relief for a short time and reportedly felt great. The doctor prescribed him a small spoon per day for the pain. A medic recommended that Eben try Radithor, a new “miracle cure” at the time, and had many supposed benefits. Then, during one of his matches, he injured his arm and was in a lot of pain. Not long after that, his father made him president of his company, Girard Iron Company.Įben had everything going for him in life until 1927.
His background afforded him many opportunities, and he was able to graduate from Yale University.Įben was also an established athlete and won many Golf championships in the early 1900s. Eben Byers’ story is a tragic one and serves as a warning to us all about the dangers of radiation poisoning.Įben Byers was born in April of 1880 to a wealthy family. When ingested, it can cause severe health problems, including cancer. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2017.What is Radium, and what does it do? It is a radioactive element discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre. "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off" (PDF). for William Bailey 64 writer and wartime manager of the electronic division of International Business Machines Company who died last night will be held. ^ a b Kacirk, Jeffrey, Forgotten English, Harper, 1999.When his body was exhumed nearly 20 years later, it was found to be "ravaged by radiation". Death īailey died of bladder cancer on May 17, 1949. ĭuring World War II, Bailey was the wartime manager of the electronic division of International Business Machines. This was a cased source, intended to be worn against the skin. īailey also invented the Radiendocrinator around 1930. In fact, Radithor was a chronically lethal mixture, and was responsible for the death of Eben Byers in 1932, who died of radiation-induced cancer after drinking about 1,400 bottles of Radithor. Radithor was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead" as well as "Perpetual Sunshine". Bailey created Radithor by dissolving radium salts in water to deliver 1 microcurie of radiation from each of 226Ra and 228Ra, claiming its curative properties were due to stimulation of the endocrine system. īailey became rich from the sale of Radithor, a well known patent medicine/ snake oil that is possibly the best known example of radioactive quackery. The company also sold Linarium (radium liniment for aches and pains), Dentarium (radium dentifrice for teeth and gums) and Kaparium (radium hair tonic). In 1922 he had had some success selling medicines like Arium radium tablets (‘Radium! Gives Super-Man Power’) through his other company, Associated Radium Chemists Inc. In 1918, Bailey claimed that radium added to drinking water could be used to treat dozens of conditions, from mental illness and headaches to diabetes, anemia, constipation, and asthma.
He was later accepted to Harvard University but did not graduate. Although Bailey's Radium Laboratories in East Orange, New Jersey, was continually investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, he died wealthy from his many devices and products, including an aphrodisiac called Arium, marketed as a restorative that "renewed happiness and youthful thrill into the lives of married peoples whose attractions to each other had weakened." Early life īailey was born on May 25, 1884, in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Boston Latin School.
A Harvard University dropout, Bailey falsely claimed to be a doctor of medicine and promoted the use of radioactive radium as a cure for coughs, flu, and other common ailments. William John Aloysius Bailey (– May 17, 1949) was an American patent medicine inventor and salesman.
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