Paul Bragg

Paul Bragg
Born	February 6, 1881 Fairfax County, Virginia
Died	December 7, 1976 (aged 95) Miami Beach, Florida
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Neva Parnin (m. 1915; div. 1928) Betty Brownlee (m. 1931; div. 1932)
Children	3
Relatives	Patricia Bragg (daughter-in-law)

Paul Chappuis Bragg (February 6, 1881 – December 7, 1976) was an American nutritionist and a pioneer in America's wellness movement.^[1]

Biography

Born as Paul Chappuis Bragg, in 1881 in Fairfax County, Virginia,^[2] Bragg grew up in Washington, D.C. with his parents, Robert Elton Bragg (1866-1944), who had procured a U.S. Civil Service position there^[3] and Caroline (Chappuis) Bragg (1859-1934). He had two brothers, James Elton Bragg and John Harrison Bragg. His father was employed by the U.S. Printing Office.^[4]

In 1915 Bragg married Neva Cecelia Parnin (1897-1988) at the Chapel of St. Barnabas in New York City.^[5] They moved to Indianapolis, where Bragg became an agent with The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Several years later, Bragg returned to the East Coast and was employed by various YMCAs & school districts in physical or athletic director capacities, his last known position before moving to California being football coach for the 1920 season at Connersville High School, Connersville, Pennsylvania.^[6]

In 1921 Bragg and his family, now also including two young daughters, Neva Pauline/Polly and Lorraine Agnes Bragg (both born in Washington, D.C. on 10/14/1917 & 10/3/1919, respectively), came to California, where Paul was again employed by the YMCA.^[7] Son, Robert Elton, was born in Los Angeles County on March 25, 1922. It is unknown how long Bragg stayed with the Los Angeles "Y", but in 1922 he was in charge of the Physical Education Department at San Luis Obispo [CA] High School,^[8] and in 1924 he was a physical education teacher at Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, California.^[9]

Circa 1926, Paul Bragg apparently left paid employment and became an entrepreneur in the health field, first by opening an establishment on N. 7th Street, Los Angeles, called "Health Center of Los Angeles" and then, in 1928, "Bragg Health Center" on South Hill Street, Los Angeles. Likely to publicize these businesses, he also wrote a weekly health column (in the early days they were "advertorials") in The Los Angeles Times from 1926 to 1928 which he sometimes called "Newslets" and other times "Health Notes". The health services that business endeavors offered are described in the advertorials and columns.

Lecturing

1929 was the beginning of Paul Bragg's health lecture tours where he went to various American cities (for instance, San Antonio & Dallas, Texas in 1929; San Francisco & Oakland, California and Denver, Colorado in 1930), rented a facility, advertised heavily, then gave a series of lectures—usually over a period of five or six consecutive evenings. His lectures were free, but he did charge a fee for post-lecture private consultation. ($20 circa 1935—approximately $343 in 2015 dollars per CPI calculation—according to testimony in a Maryland court case against him).

1929 was also the copyright year of the first health book attributed to Bragg as author, "Cure Yourself". Since book stores or book departments in retail stores in that era were usually only accessible in the more highly populated areas, another purpose of Bragg's lecture tours was most likely to promote and sell his books.

Divorce

During the Braggs' first decade in California, Paul & Neva Bragg divorced,^[10] and in the 1930 U.S. Census, Neva & her new husband, August Busch, were shown living with the three Bragg children in Los Angeles, California.

The Florida Marriage Index documents the marriage of "Paul C. Bragg" and "Betty Brownlee" (born Gertrude Elizabeth Brownlee 6 July 1902, Eau Claire, Wisconsin) on 17 Feb. 1930 in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida. On their Application for Marriage, Miss Brownlee gave her occupation as Advance Manager for the Bragg lectures, and Bragg stated his age as "49", his residence as "1109 N. Hudson, Hollywood, Cal.", & his birthplace as "Pinkle, Virginia" on the same form. However, the following year, Gertrude Elizabeth Bragg filed for divorce against Paul C. Bragg in Los Angeles County Superior Court,^[11] which Divorce Decree was granted in January 1932.^[12] There is currently no indication that Paul Bragg ever remarried.

Death

Bragg was reported to have died of a heart attack in the emergency room of South Shore Hospital in Miami, Florida on December 7, 1976. ^[13][14] The Miami Herald edition of December 10, 1976, reporting on his death there, stated that "Patricia Bragg said her father was injured by a wave in the surf six months ago and his health began to decline after the accident". Bragg was cremated on December 10, 1976 by the Lithgow Funeral Center, Miami, Florida, per his Florida death certificate. On December 19, 1976, both Honolulu daily newspapers, The Advertiser and The Star-Bulletin, ran an identical photo/short text article on a memorial service held the previous day for Mr. Bragg, which ended with the following: "Participants brought flowers to scatter with Mr. Bragg's ashes in the Ft. DeRussey Beach waters off Waikiki."

Legacy

Bragg advocated using deep breathing, water fasts, organic foods, drinking distilled water, juicing, exercise, listening to one's body, and many other techniques as methods of prolonging life span. Until he died at age 95, Bragg stated that every human being could live to 120 by following his regimens.

Patricia Bragg, has since taken over Bragg's health empire. She has stated that she was legally adopted by Paul.^[15]

Bragg was the inspiration and personal health and fitness adviser to top Olympic stars from three-time swimming gold medalist Murray Rose to four-time track gold medalist Betty Cuthbert of Australia, his relative Don Bragg (pole-vaulting gold medalist), and others. Jack LaLanne, the original "TV Fitness King", said that "Bragg saved my life at age 15 when I attended the Bragg Crusade in Oakland, California".^[16]

Bragg also wrote many successful books, such as The Miracle of Fasting and Live Food Cook Book and Menus (Hollywood, California: Live Food Products, Inc., 1930).

References

External links

• Bragg.com, Paul and Patricia Bragg's website
• People Magazine, 1975 article about Paul Bragg