Diamond Jim Brady: The Gilded Age Glutton Who Funded Medicine

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

When doctors examined James Buchanan Brady after his death in 1917, they reportedly found a stomach six times the normal size. This episode follows the man behind it: born in 1856 on Manhattan's lower west side to an Irish immigrant saloon keeper, he started as a bellhop and courier, became chief assistant to the general manager in the New York Central Railroad system by 21, and then turned his insider knowledge into a career selling the railroads their equipment for Manning, Maxwell and Moore and the Pressed Steel Car Company.

His fortune, estimated at $12 million, came from more than commissions. The episode examines the crooked bets on the 1896 McKinley and Bryan election and a shady Reading Railroad stock deal, then the spectacle he built with the proceeds: more than $2 million in jewels, New York City's first automobile in 1895, champion racehorses, actress Lillian Russell at his side, and dinners at Rector's that became legend. It ends with the illnesses that killed him at 60 and the urological institutes his money created.

Brady reportedly began the day with a gallon of orange juice, and restaurateur George Rector called him the best 25 customers he ever had.
He won around $180,000 on the 1896 presidential election and took $1.25 million from the Reading Railroad stock deal.
His horse Gold Heels was champion older male in 1902, and the constant press coverage of his excess doubled as free marketing for his sales career.
He died of a heart attack at the Shelburne Hotel in Atlantic City, suffering from Bright's disease, diabetes, gallstones, and coronary heart disease.
In 1912 he gave $220,000 to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he had been a patient, to found the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(16184)

The Art of Adult Friendship: Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore how our understanding of friendship changes as we grow old...

9 Marras 18min

Summer Explained: The Science, History, and Traditions of the Warmest Season

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore summer, the season most closely associated with sunshine, ...

7 Marras 18min

Sir Patrick Stewart: From Shakespeare to Star Trek, the Life and Legacy of a Legend

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the extraordinary life of Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaim...

7 Marras 49min

Larry David: The Genius of Social Awkwardness, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and career of Larry David, the comedian, writer, ...

6 Marras 38min

Why Australian Shepherds Aren't From Australia

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the history of the Australian Shepherd, an intelligent, en...

5 Marras 45min

Labrador Retriever: From Newfoundland Fishing Dogs to Modern-Day Heroes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable history of the Labrador Retriever, one of t...

4 Marras 53min

Discovering Ireland: A Journey Through History, Culture, and the Wild Atlantic Way

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore Ireland through the philosophy of slow travel: go slower, ...

3 Marras 48min

Willie Hutch: An Overnight I'll Be There Lyric and The Mack's Soundtrack

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!William McKinley Hutchins was born in Los Angeles in December 1944 and raised in Dallas, where h...

2 Marras 21min