William John Aloysius Bailey (May 25, 1884 – May 17, 1949) was an American

patent medicine A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

inventor and salesman. A

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

dropout, Bailey falsely claimed to be a doctor of medicine and promoted the use of radioactive

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...

as a cure for coughs, flu, and other common ailments.Kacirk, Jeffrey, ''Forgotten English'', Harper, 1999. 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

Bailey was born on May 25, 1884, in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Boston Latin School. He was later accepted to

but did not graduate.

Career

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. 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. The company also sold Linarium (radium liniment for aches and pains), Dentarium (radium dentifrice for teeth and gums) and Kaparium (radium hair tonic). Bailey became rich from the sale of

Radithor Radithor was a patent medicine that is a well-known example of radioactive quackery and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of radiation hormesis. It consisted of triple distilled water containing ...

, a well known

snake oil Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraud ...

that is possibly the best known example of

radioactive quackery Radioactive quackery is quackery that improperly promotes radioactivity as a therapy for illnesses. Unlike radiotherapy, which is the scientifically sound use of radiation for the destruction of cells (usually cancer cells), quackery pseudo-s ...

. 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 The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neu ...

. Radithor was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead" as well as "Perpetual Sunshine" In fact, Radithor was a chronically lethal mixture, and was responsible for the death of

Eben Byers Ebenezer McBurney Byers (April 12, 1880 – March 31, 1932) was a wealthy American socialite, sportsman, and industrialist. He won the 1906 U.S. Amateur in golf. He earned notoriety in the early 1930s when he died from multiple radiation-induc ...

in 1932, who died of

radiation-induced cancer Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the future incidence of cancer, particularly leukemia. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most wi ...

after drinking about 1,400 bottles of Radithor. Bailey also invented the Radiendocrinator around 1930. This was a cased source, intended to be worn against the skin. During World War II, Bailey was the wartime manager of the electronic division of International Business Machines.

Death

Bailey died of

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

on May 17, 1949. When his body was exhumed nearly 20 years later, it was found to be "ravaged by radiation".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, William J.A. 1884 births 1949 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Boston Latin School alumni Businesspeople from Boston Deaths from bladder cancer Harvard University alumni IBM employees Patent medicine businesspeople Pseudoscientific diet advocates Radioactive quackery Radium 20th-century American inventors Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References