Philip Bernard

Bernard Bernard (b. 5 August 1890, Tottenham, England; d. 15 July 1975, Guadalajara, Mexico) was a self-described "editor, author, philosopher, scientist, idealist and champion wrestler."

Life and Career A photo of Bernard from his book Sex Conduct in Marriage (1922).

Bernard was born in England to German immigrants, and his original name was Otto Bernhard Trappschuh. Because of anti-German sentiment in the wake of World War I, he was one of thousands of British citizens who changed their German patronymic, in his case from Trappschuh to Bernard, and from 1920 he was known as Bernard Bernard. He changed his name again in October 1935 by deed poll, to Bernard Lytton-Bernard. Eating to Correct Ill-Health (1924), and A Complete Book of Sex Knowledge (1926).

Bernard lived in New York City and in California in the 1920s, working as a journalist. In 1928, with Clara Louisa Glover, he was involved in a mail order scam which promised to make short people become taller. The fraud grossed Glover and Bernard over $26,000.

Bernard returned to England in 1935 and stood as a Labour Party candidate in the Spelthorne constituency; he was decisively beated by Conservative incumbent Reginald Blaker.

He left England as World War II was looming and, as a self-styled scientist, philosopher, and humanitarian, traveled to India, South Africa, Cuba, Chile, and Nice, where he operated a school of finance, teaching people how to play the stock market. He ended up in Mexico, where he opened a health resort. He died in Guadalajara in 1975.