Winston Churchill Received A Prescription For Alcohol To Get Around American Prohibition

Winston Churchill was famous for his love affair with booze. He reportedly drank Champagne at every meal and enjoyed scotch throughout the day followed by nightcaps of brandy. Suffice it to say, this was a man who would not react well to forced abstinence. However, when Churchill paid a visit to the United States in 1931 for a lecture tour, during the height of Prohibition, forced abstinence was exactly what he faced, and that meant he had to find a way around it.

Luckily for Churchill, while alcohol was forbidden for general public consumption, it was still viewed as a valuable health aid for certain conditions. Depending on the doctor you wound up seeing and the condition you had, you could find a willing medical professional who was able to write you a prescription to aid your symptoms, much in the same way medical marijuana is dispensed today.

Now Churchill just had to find a symptom worthy of being treated with copious amounts of booze, and he found that symptom by accident when stepping out of a cab in New York City and making the classic English mistake of looking the wrong way. Churchill was promptly hit by an oncoming car, and immediately taken to the hospital.

Following his mending at the hospital, Churchill was sent to see Doctor O.C. Pickhardt on East 80th St. and after a quick exam, Dr. Pickhardt concluded that the solution to what ailed the future Prime Minister was no less than six shots of alcohol at mealtimes, though Churchill could consume more if he wished. Churchill had found his solution to the problem of American Prohibition and stayed comfortably lubricated throughout the rest of his time in the States.

Here’s the actual prescription Churchill received: