James Buchanan Brady

Financier, born in New York City, USA. He worked for the New York Central Railroad, became a salesman of railroad equipment (1879), and in 1888 was the only agent in the USA for the Fox Pressed Steel Car Truck Company of England. Known for living in high style as one of the great Broadway ‘sports’, he wore diamond jewellery estimated at $2 million in value. But he remained a serious businessman, accumulating a large fortune, much of which he gave for urological studies at Johns Hopkins University and New York City Hospital.

For other persons named James Brady, see James Brady (disambiguation).

James Buchanan Brady, also known as Diamond Jim Brady, (12 August 1856–13 April 1917) was an American businessman, financier, and philanthropist of the Gilded Age.

Born in New York City to a modest household, Brady worked his way up from bellboy and messenger. At 23, Brady parlayed his knowledge of the railroad industry and its officials to become a highly successful salesman for Manning, Maxwell and Moore, a railroad supply company.

Known for his penchant for jewels, especially diamonds, he collected precious stones and jewelry in excess of US$ 2 million (adjusted for 2005 dollars, approx.

Brady's enormous appetite and resultant girth were as legendary as his wealth.

The usual evening meal began with an appetizer of two or three dozen oysters, six crabs, and a few servings of green turtle soup, followed by a main course of two whole ducks, six or seven lobsters, a sirloin steak, two servings of terrapin and a host of vegetables.

"Diamond Jim" is known not only for his appetite, but for his romantic association with singer Lillian Russell, a famously voluptuous beauty of the era.

A gregarious man, Brady was a mainstay of Broadway nightlife. After further investments in the stock market, Brady accumulated wealth estimated at $12 million.

Brady donated a significant sum in 1912 to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where he had once been treated. The hospital created the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute in his honor.

Brady never married, and after his death his estate was distributed to many institutions, most notably New York Hospital.