Wikimedia Commons A bottle of Radithor, the radium-infused water that Eben Byers’ doctor prescribed him for an arm injury.īy the time Eben Byers’ jaw began to fall off and he started suffering other gruesome side effects, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had begun investating Radithor as a dangerous drug. But in some strange act of mercy, the radium poisoning had the positive side effect of him not being able to feel any pain whatsoever. With his bones and tissue falling to pieces from the inside out, Byers looked monstrous. In 1931, after experiencing extreme weight loss and excessive headaches, Eben Byers was in for the surprise of his life when his jaw began disintegrating. From 1927 to 1930, Eben Byers claimed that Radithor gave him a “toned-up” feeling, though some reports suggest he took it for a more prurient reason.Īccording to the Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity, Byers had been known as “Foxy Grandpa” by his classmates at Yale for his ways with the ladies, and the Radithor brought back his famed libido as he approached his late 40s.īut whatever Byers’ reasons were for taking the drug, the side effects were devastating. Over the course of three years, Byers took as many as 1,400 doses of the radium water, drinking up to three bottles of Radithor per day. Bailey introduced Radithor, it quickly became popular.Īccording to Medium, Bailey falsely claimed that he was a doctor and even offered physicians a 17 percent rebate on each bottle of Radithor they prescribed. So when a Harvard dropout named William J. In the mid-1920s, no one was aware that radioactive material could cause genetic mutations and cancer with high enough levels of exposure. Moyer, prescribed him Radithor, a medication made from dissolving radium in water. Wikimedia Commons Eben Byers playing golf in the 1920s.
According to the Allegheny Cemetery Heritage, he fell from his berth, injuring his arm. In November 1927, Eben Byers was on the way back home by attending the annual Yale-Harvard football game when the train he was riding lurched to a sudden stop. Radithor, The Radioactive Medication That Disfigured Eben Byers’ Jaw Unfortunately, a tragic accident soon set young Byers on the fateful path to an early death - and a revolution in medicine. Byers Company, one of the largest wrought iron producers in America. Amateur Golf Championship, according to the Golf Compendium.Įventually, Byers’ father made his son the chairman of his business, the A. Paul’s in Concord, New Hampshire, and what was then known as Yale College.īut where young Eben Byers really excelled was as a sportsman. Growing up with that level of wealth meant that the younger Byers was privileged enough to have access to the best that money could buy - including schools like the prestigious St. According to the Frick Collection, Alexander Byers was an art collector, financier, and president of his eponymous steel company and the National Iron Bank of Pittsburgh. Eben Byers’ Early Life Of Privilegeīorn Ebenezer McBurney Byers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 12, 1880, Eben Byers was the son of Alexander McBurney Byers. This is the true but horrifying story of Eben Byers, whose death sparked a revolution in medicine. Before his early death from cancer, the entire lower half of his face fell off as a result of his exposure to the deadly radioactive material. Unfortunately for Byers, his doctor recommended this treatment after he suffered an arm injury in 1927.īyers became infamous when he developed “Radithor jaw,” a disease brought on by the ingestion of radium. Medicine in his time was nowhere near as sophisticated as it is today - and one of the most popular therapeutic methods was the newly-discovered element radium.
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