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Today, radiation is closely associated with cancer treatment, nuclear accidents, and strict safety standards. A century ago, however, it was viewed as a symbol of health and scientific progress. After Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, radioactive substances were added to products ranging from toothpaste and cosmetics to drinking water, with claims that they could boost energy, slow aging, and cure various ailments despite little scientific evidence.1
One of the most famous believers was Eben McBurney Byers, a wealthy American businessman and golf champion. After a minor injury, he began drinking Radithor, a radioactive tonic marketed as a health booster. Instead of restoring his vitality, years of consumption caused severe radiation poisoning that destroyed his bones and jaw, ultimately leading to his death.
Byers' widely reported case exposed the dangers of unregulated health products and became a turning point in drug safety regulation in the United States.
The discovery of radium sparked widespread excitement in the early 1900s, with many believing its energy-emitting properties could improve health. While radiation showed promise in treating certain diseases, its long-term health risks were not yet understood.3
This led companies to market radioactive products as miracle cures for fatigue, aging, and chronic illnesses. Items such as drinking water, toothpaste, cosmetics, chocolates, bath salts, fertility treatments, and energy tonics were advertised as health boosters despite lacking scientific evidence.
With limited regulation of health products, manufacturers freely promoted these products using exaggerated claims, portraying radioactivity as a source of vitality and rejuvenation.1
Born in 1880 into a wealthy Pennsylvania industrial family, Eben McBurney Byers was a successful businessman and accomplished athlete. A Yale graduate, he rose to national fame after winning the 1906 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship and later became chairman of the Girard Iron Company. Known for his active lifestyle and prominent social status, Byers was widely regarded as the picture of health.7
In 1927, Eben Byers reportedly injured his arm after falling from a sleeping train. To ease the lingering pain, his physician recommended Radithor, a radioactive tonic produced by William J. A. Bailey.
Byers initially felt better and believed the tonic boosted both his recovery and energy levels. Even after his injury healed, he continued drinking Radithor regularly, unaware that the habit would eventually prove fatal.4,6
Radithor was one of the most famous radioactive patent medicines sold during the 1920s.
Manufactured by Bailey Radium Laboratories, each small bottle contained triple-distilled water infused with tiny amounts of radium-226 and radium-228. The product was marketed under the slogan:
"A Cure for the Living Dead."
Advertisements promised remarkable health benefits, including:
Increased energy
Enhanced athletic performance
Improved hormonal balance
Greater sexual vitality
Relief from fatigue
Treatment for arthritis
General rejuvenation
These claims lacked scientific validation, yet Radithor became especially popular among affluent Americans eager to embrace modern scientific innovations.
Its creator, William Bailey, falsely portrayed himself as a medical expert despite having no legitimate medical qualifications. Like many patent medicine manufacturers of the era, he relied on persuasive marketing rather than clinical evidence.1
The danger of Radithor was not immediate but cumulative. After ingestion, radium is absorbed into the bloodstream and deposited in bones, where it behaves like calcium. Unlike calcium, however, radium continuously emits alpha radiation, damaging bone tissue, bone marrow, blood vessels, and surrounding cells over time.
Believing the tonic improved his health, Byers reportedly drank around 1,400 bottles over nearly three years.1 As radium accumulated in his skeleton, he developed fatigue, headaches, severe bone pain, weight loss, loose teeth, and persistent mouth infections. Eventually, radiation caused extensive osteonecrosis ("radium jaw"), destroying much of his upper and lower jaw. Parts of his skull also deteriorated, requiring repeated surgeries, but there was no way to remove the radioactive material already lodged in his bones.2
As reports of Eben Byers' worsening condition spread, Radithor came under federal scrutiny. Robert Hiner Winn, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), visited Byers at his luxurious Southampton estate during the investigation.
Although the mansion reflected Byers' wealth and status, Winn was deeply shaken by what he witnessed inside. He later recalled that the contrast between the magnificent home and Byers' devastating physical condition was unforgettable, describing the scene as one of the most horrifying he had ever encountered.5
Young in years and mentally alert, he could hardly speak. His head was swathed in bandages. He had undergone two successive operations in which his whole upper jaw, excepting two front teeth, and most of his lower jaw had been removed. All the remaining bone tissue of his body was slowly disintegrating, and holes were actually forming in his skull.
Robert Hiner Winn, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
By early 1932, Eben Byers' condition had become irreversible. Years of radium accumulation had destroyed much of his jaw and skull, leaving him with chronic pain, severe weight loss, and extreme physical weakness.3 Because radium remains embedded in bone and continues emitting radiation, there was no effective treatment.
On March 31, 1932, Byers died at the age of 51 from chronic radium poisoning, becoming one of the most well-known victims of the radioactive patent medicine craze.4
The autopsy revealed that he had only six teeth remaining, while both his upper and lower jawbones had largely disintegrated. His brain also showed signs of severe infection, including abscess formation. Dr. Frederick Bonner Flinn of Columbia University estimated that Byers' skeleton contained 36 micrograms of radium, more than three times the amount considered fatal at the time. The findings underscored the devastating consequences of prolonged internal radiation exposure.
Byers' death dominated newspaper headlines across the United States, with The New York Times famously reporting, "Eben N. Byers Dies of Radium Poisoning".4 His case shocked the public by revealing that products marketed as health tonics could be deadly.
The widespread publicity led to increased scrutiny of radioactive patent medicines such as Radithor, which quickly disappeared from the market. The tragedy also strengthened support for stricter regulation of medicines and advertising, reinforcing the need for scientific evidence before health products could be sold.2
One of the most devastating consequences of chronic radium exposure is "radium jaw," a condition in which radiation destroys bone tissue and its blood supply. Patients may develop severe jaw pain, loose teeth, chronic infections, non-healing ulcers, and progressive bone loss.2
Because radium behaves like calcium, it remains embedded in bones and continues emitting radiation for years. With a half-life of about 1,600 years, radium-226 persists long after death. Decades later, scientists detected significant radioactivity in Byers' remains, making his case an important source of information on the long-term effects of internal radiation exposure.2,3
Eben Byers' death marked the end of the radioactive health tonic era and remains one of history's most infamous examples of medical quackery. His case demonstrated the dangers of unproven "miracle cures" and helped pave the way for stronger pharmaceutical regulations and evidence-based medicine. More than 90 years later, it continues to serve as a reminder that extraordinary health claims require equally strong scientific evidence.1,2
1. History.com Editors. 2023. The Deadly Radium Health Craze of the Early 1900s. https://www.history.com/articles/radium-cures-health-fad-early-20th-century
2. Finkelstein, Murray M. 1994. "Radium in Drinking Water and the Risk of Death from Bone Cancer Among Ontario Youths." Canadian Medical Association Journal 151 (5): 565–571. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1337191/
3. Canu, Isabelle G., Olivier Laurent, Nicolas Pires, Dominique Laurier, and Isabelle Dublineau. 2011. "Health Effects of Naturally Radioactive Water Ingestion: The Need for Enhanced Studies." Environmental Health Perspectives 119 (12): 1676–1680. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003224.
4. The New York Times. 1932. "Eben N. Byers Dies of Radium Poisoning." April 1, 1932. https://www.nytimes.com/1932/04/01/archives/eben-n-byers-dies-of-radium-poisoning-noted-sportsman-51-had-drunk.html
5. TIME. 1932. "Medicine: Radium Drinks." TIME, April 11, 1932. https://time.com/archive/6749075/medicine-radium-drinks/.
6. All That's Interesting. 2021. Eben Byers And The Horrific Consequences Of Drinking Radium. https://allthatsinteresting.com/eben-byers
7. History Defined. 2023. The Strange Story of Eben Byers, Who Drank Radium Until His Jaw Fell Off. https://www.historydefined.net/eben-byers/
