Gordon Bennett, the man who burned money instead of carrying it

New Delhi: Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he took every opportunity to live life as a playboy; his wild lifestyle and extravagant spending gained him notoriety in high society. James Gordon Bennett, Jr. was publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett, Sr., who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as Gordon Bennett to distinguish him from his father and has been linked to the British expletive "Gordon Bennett!" The greatest and perhaps most unbelievable story was the time Bennett grew so annoyed with a huge roll of money that he couldn't fit into his pocket that he just burnt it. This man took absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in burning more money than most people would see in a lifetime just because it wouldn't fit into his pocket. On one occasion, at a New Year's party (1877) being held by his fiancee's father, he got so stupifyingly drunk as to mistake the fireplace for a toilet and proceeded to urinate in front of his prospective in-laws and their guests. There are many more tales of his outrageous and extravagant behaviour, however not all cast him in a bad light, such as the numerous times he would donate large sums of money to charities. He took over the management of the Herald in 1867, and proceeded to invest funds in newsworthy ventures. His funding included the expedition by Stanley to Africa, in search of Dr. David Livingstone, and an ill fated attempt to explore the North Pole and Arctic region by G.W. De Long in the years between 1879 and 1881. The 'Jeanette' expedition, as the Arctic trip was known, failed miserably and led to the subsequent death, via starvation, of De Long and 19 fellow crew members. There are several islands in Siberia that bear Bennett's name. From 1877 he lived in Europe, mainly on his 301 foot yacht, the Lysistrata, from where he administered the running of the New York Herald. He died in France in May 1918, aged 78. The use of James Gordon-Bennett's name as an expletive possibly bears relation to his outrageous lifestyle and involvement in newsworthy stunts.