It’s Dylan Thomas’s Birthday. Born in 1914, this Welsh literary giant wrote some of the most iconic poems in the English language, particularly “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” He was also one of the 20th century’s finest drunkards. You know, it’s been long repeated that Dylan was hustled into an early grave by the 18 bourbons he downed in a single sitting in New York City’s White Horse Tavern. That he died on the sidewalk outside the bar where, on his knees, he told a young woman, “I’ve had 18 straight whiskeys. I think that’s a record. I love you, but I’m alone.” The truth is Dylan died six days later in a coma brought on by a doctor-induced drug overdose. Apparently unaware Dylan Thomas was a diabetic, one Dr. Thomas Feltenstein misdiagnosed Dylan’s hangover for alcoholic stupor, even though it was a day after his drinking feat, and injected him with cortisone, Benzedrine, and a very large amount of morphine, which shocked his system into a fatal diabetic coma. After being transported to a hospital, staff doctors questioned the diagnosis and treatment, and Feltenstein promptly destroyed the medical records that would have exposed his gross malpractice. So there you have it. Often feted as a dire warning to young poets who would have their way with the booze, Dylan Thomas’s fate may now be considered a caveat against quacks. Top quote: “An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.”
