Ben Corday

Ben Corday (1875–1938) was an American tattoo artist and actor. He is known for being a prolific tattoo flash artist and a progenitor of modern tattooing.

Life

Ben Corday was born in 1875. Corday told a variety of stories about his life, so some biographical details are uncertain. While his obituary listed Singapore as his place of birth, he told another newspaper that he was born in Lucknow, India, and a historian found records that he was born in Lancashire, England.

A man of many trades, Ben Corday was mainly known for his career in tattooing, which he practiced after immigrating to the United States. Corday lived and tattooed in several locations, including San Francisco, New York City, Australia and Los Angeles. What is known about Corday's tattooing career is primarily from the stories passed down by his peers. His mentee, American tattooer Bert Grimm, relayed several of these to San Francisco tattooer Lyle Tuttle.