taoliner.blogg.se

William Bailey was never tried for Byers’ death, although the Federal Trade Commission issued an order against his business.

His illness and eventual death also led to a heightened awareness of the dangers of ingesting radioactive materials, and to the adoption of laws that increased the powers of the FDA. The Wall Street Journal ran a headline reading “The Radium Water Worked Fine until His Jaw Came Off” after his death. He is buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a lead-lined coffin.ĭue to Byers’ prominence, his death received much publicity. His death on March 31, 1932, was attributed to “radiation poisoning” using the terminology of the time, but it was due to cancers, not acute radiation syndrome. Byers’ brain was also abscessed, and holes were forming in his skull. By 1930, when Byers stopped taking the remedy, he had accumulated significant amounts of radium in his bones resulting in the loss of most of his jaw. Byers began taking enormous doses of Radithor, which he believed had greatly improved his health, drinking nearly 1,400 bottles. He offered physicians a 17% rebate on the prescription of each dose of Radithor. Bailey created Radithor by dissolving radium in water to high concentrations, claiming it could cure many ailments by stimulating the endocrine system. Bailey was a Harvard University dropout who falsely claimed to be a doctor of medicine and became rich from the sale of Radithor. He complained of persistent pain and a doctor suggested that he take Radithor, a patent medicine manufactured by William J. In 1927, while returning via chartered train from the annual Harvard–Yale football game, Byers fell from his berth and injured his arm. Byers eventually became the chairman of the Girard Iron Company, which had been created by his father. Amateur golf champion of 1906, after finishing runner-up in 19. Paul’s School and Yale College, where he earned a reputation as an athlete and ladies’ man. The son of industrialist Alexander Byers, Eben Byers was educated at St.