Dr. John R. Brinkley: The Goat Gland Doctor from Appalachia

John Romulus Brinkley was born in Burnsville, North Carolina, to a former Confederate medic and his housekeeper. From those humble beginnings young Brinkley grew up to become a traveling "Quaker doctor," a medical huckster and conman in both Knoxville, Tennessee and Greenville, South Carolina, a student at several "eclectic medical schools," a successful surgeon in Kansas, renowned for his "goat gonad" transplants into willing men hoping to boost their sexual prowess, the owner of two radio stations, one of which was on the Mexican border and blasted out his goat gland pitches, along with performances by the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and many other early country music stars, all across North America with a million watt signal, and, most importantly for him, a very, very rich man.

Until it all came crashing down.

Today we tell the story of Appalachia's own goat gland doctor, from Burnsville, another one of the Stories of Appalachia!

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