Radam, William (Library of Congress Name Authority File, no2017126365)
primary document · 2017
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SUMMARY
Library of Congress name-authority record for William Radam, read from the record's JSON (https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2017126365.json, fetched 2026-06-11). The authoritativeLabel is 'Radam, William' (marcKey '1001 $aRadam, William'; the record carries no birth/death dates). Its catalog notes establish, from an institutional authority, that Radam 'was a native of Prussia', 'established a gardening store and nursery' in Austin, Texas, 'finally produced a liquid that he considered a universal and non-poisonous antiseptic', dubbed it the Microbe Killer, and that it 'was later proven to be a quack medicine'; a further note records the title-page styling 'William Radam, discoverer of the Microbe-Killer'. The record cites the North Texas Skeptic article (ntskeptics-radam-2004) and Radam's 1895 book as its sources. Used here to ground the biographical framing of Radam in the practitioner entity.
NOTES
This Library of Congress Name Authority File record is the institutional authority for the basic facts of Radam’s life and work used in the practitioner entity: that he was a native of Prussia, established a gardening store and nursery in Austin, Texas, and produced the liquid he considered a universal and non-poisonous antiseptic, the Microbe Killer, which the record itself notes was later proven to be a quack medicine. The authority carries no birth or death dates (those are sourced separately), and it cites the North Texas Skeptic article and Radam’s own book as its evidence. It is used for biographical grounding, not for any identifier.