John R. Brinkley | |
|---|---|
 Brinkley, c. 1921 | |
| Born | John Romulus Brinkley July 8, 1885 |
| Died | May 26, 1942 (aged 56) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | radio pioneer, charlatan |
| Known for | goat gland transplantation[1] |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Wike (1907–1916) Minerva Telitha "Minnie" Jones (1913–1942) |
John Romulus Brinkley (later John Richard Brinkley; July 8, 1885 – May 26, 1942) was an American quack doctor, broadcaster, marketer and independent politician. He had no accredited education as a physician and bought his medical degree from a diploma mill. Brinkley became known as the "goat-gland doctor"[2] after he achieved national fame, international notoriety, and wealth through the xenotransplantation of goat testicles into humans. Although initially Brinkley promoted this procedure as a means of curing male impotence, he later claimed that the technique was a virtual panacea for a wide range of male ailments. Brinkley operated clinics and hospitals in several states and was able to continue practicing medicine for almost two decades despite his techniques being thoroughly discredited by the broader medical community.
He was also an advertising and radio pioneer who began the era of Mexican border blaster radio.[3][4]
Although he was stripped of his license to practice medicine in Kansas and several other states, Brinkley, a demagogue beloved by hundreds of thousands of people in Kansas and elsewhere, nevertheless launched two campaigns for Kansas governor, one of which was nearly successful. Brinkley's rise to fame and fortune was as quick as his eventual fall was precipitous. At the height of his career he had amassed millions of dollars, but he died nearly penniless as a result of the large number of malpractice, wrongful death, and fraud suits brought against him.[5]
- ^ John R. Brinkley as the subject of an episode of the podcast Reply All
- ^ "Goat Gland Doctor (1986)". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^ Lee, 2002, p. 2.
- ^ Hutchens, John K. (June 7, 1942). "Notes on the Late Dr. John R. Brinkley, Whom Radio Raised to a Certain Fame". New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
- ^ Wardlaw, Frank (1981). "The Goat-Gland Man". Southwest Review. 66 (2): 208. JSTOR 43469345.