A Brief History
On April 13, 1917, Diamond Jim Brady died at the age of 60, not surprisingly of a heart attack. His reputation made him a truly American legend.
Digging Deeper
Brady was born in New York City to Irish immigrants. Jim worked low level jobs, gradually working his way up the ladder in the railroad industry, amassing power and wealth that spawned a legend.
His flashy use of diamonds earned him his moniker, while his eating was most legendary. The first New Yorker to own a car, Brady is claimed to eat meals that would feed 10 men. A massive breakfast was washed down by a gallon of orange juice and lunch would be “shellfish…two or three deviled crabs, a brace of boiled lobsters, a joint of beef, and an enormous salad” followed by dessert.
Dinner was even larger: six lobsters, steaks, two ducks, turtles, shellfish, veggies and salad, and of course, a huge dessert. And he reportedly had big snacks between meals!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Brady, Parker and James Morrell. Diamond Jim: The Life and Times of James Buchanan Brady. Garden City Books, 1934.
Jeffers, H. Paul. Diamond Jim Brady: Prince of the Gilded Age. Wiley, 2001.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of Diamond Jim Brady c. 1900, is from the George Grantham Bain collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.
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