XERA 1935 Del Rio, Texas

John R. Brinkley (1885-1942).
North Carolina-born king of American quackery. After receiving a two-year degree from Eclectic Medical University, a Kansas City diploma mill, he began a medical practice in Milford, Kansas. An early scam of his involved injecting men with colored distilled water, his "Electric German Medicine," to increase their "manly vigor:" He treated one tired old farmer, who asked whether Brinkley might consider implanting goat glands into him. Brinkley initially laughed at the idea, but after mulling it over transplanted testicles from a Toggenberg goat into the farmer's scrotum, and a year later the man's wife reportedly bore him a son, whom they jokingly called "Billy." This launched Brinkley's career as a purveyor of goat glands to the weary, for which he charged about $750 cash per patient. By 1920, the Brinkley Clinic with its herd of unsuspecting goats penned in back-was receiving dozens of patients and hundreds of inquiries each day thanks to the doctor's powerful radio station, 500,000-watt XERA, direct-mail advertising and newspaper ads, many containing biblical references. Between I933 and 1941, when he declared bankruptcy, Brinkley continued installing goat organs into the gullible in Del Rio, Texas, raking in millions of dollars for his useless and risky surgeries. Yet he died with almost nothing due to the many malpractice lawsuits he faced.

Certificate, Info courtesy of NL7XM
Letter courtesy of G4UZN