Ray Vaughn Pierce

Ray Vaughn Pierce (1840–1914) was an American physician, patent-medicine manufacturer and politician of Buffalo, New York. Trained at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, he built a fortune on proprietary remedies, above all Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery and Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription, advertised on barns and in newspapers across the country, and founded the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute in Buffalo. The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser, first published in 1875, combined a home medical guide with promotion of his products and sold in the millions. Pierce served in the New York State Senate and for one term in Congress.