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EARLY YEARS

The story of Bernarr Macfadden's early years is about a sickly and weak child, who was orphaned, overcame great adversity and gained superb health and amazing strength.

Born Bernard Adolphus McFadden on August 16, 1868 in Mill Spring, Missouri,his childhood was anything but easy. His father was an abusive alcoholic and his mother was a melancholy woman in very poor health. By the time he was just 11 years old, both his parents had died, he had no real family, had lived with one and then another uncaring relative, had spent a year in an orphanage, and was essentially on his own in a cruel and unloving world.

It Wouldn't Be Long Before He Died
He was a skinny and sickly child who was frequently ill and recovered slowly. When he was 7 or 8, he was vaccinated by a medically unsound method and almost died. This incident was the beginning of his distrust of doctors.

Once he overheard a relative say about him that he was so weak and unhealthy, it wouldn't be long before he died just like his mother had. This death notice caused a powerful emotional reaction w

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The Perfect Woman / The Perfect Family

When Macfadden arrived in England in 1913, one of the first things he did to attract publicity was to arrange a contest to select "the most perfect specimen of English womanhood." One contestant in particular captivated his attention, and she was declared the unanimous winner. Her name was Mary Williamson. Macfadden married Mary just a couple months later. He was 45; she was 19.

The World's Healtiest Man and Woman
Mary was a champion swimmer and had a natural, wholesome, friendly appearance. Macfadden was partial to women with "some flesh on their bones," and Mary was the perfect example of what Macfadden believed was the ideal female form.

Never one to miss an opportunity for publicity, Macfadden toured the country with his new wife billing themselves as "the world's healthiest man and woman."

Macfadden's public performances were amazing. At one point he would begin doing deep knee bends at a rapid pace - and using only one leg too! He would then invite people from the audience (usually young men ready to show off for their girlfri

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Bernarr Macfadden: Bodybuilder, Publisher, and Eccentric Prophet of Physical Culture

Bernarr Macfadden, who almost single-handedly launched the twin American obsessions with diet and exercise, wanted you to picture a roaring lion when you said his name out loud. Not content with his birth name, Bernard, the young Macfadden had his name legally changed so it supposedly better resembled a roar: Bernarr.

Macfadden certainly did roar his way through life. Born August 16, 1868 as Bernard McFadden on a farm in Mill Spring, Missouri, he was orphaned by the time he was 11. Macfadden’s father died from delirium tremens (alcohol withdrawal), and his mother from tuberculosis. The young boy was briefly installed in a Chicago boarding school, then housed, equally briefly, with relatives who ran a hotel in the city. He then worked as a farm laborer in northern Illinois for two years before he took to the open road, working as a miner, a dentist's assistant, a wood chopper, a printer’s apprentice, and a water boy for a construction team.

Because he spent his childhood dreading the arr