James Scott Brady (1940–2014) was an American government official who served as the fifteenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and became permanently disabled from a gunshot wound during the attempted assassination of Reagan in 1981.
Born in Centralia, Illinois, Brady attended the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and worked as a political aide for federal agencies and Republican politicians before joining Reagan’s election campaign in 1980. After Reagan took office, Brady served as the White House Press Secretary 1981–89.
In 1981, Brady was caught in the crossfire when John W. Hinckley, Jr. fired at Reagan as he exited a Washington, D.C. hotel. Left partially paralyzed, he spent much of the rest of his life in a wheelchair and died in 2014 of the gunshot wound he received 33 years earlier.
Brady became a significant crusader for gun control and campaigned for the firearm regulations legislation. In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed “The Brady Law” (the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act,) establishing the modern system of federal background checks to purchase firearms.
In 2000, the White House press briefing room was renamed in Brady’s honor.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by James Brady
You gotta play the hand that’s dealt you. There may be pain in that hand, but you play it.
—James Brady
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Howard Baker American Politician
Colin Powell American Military Leader
George P. Shultz American Economist
C. Everett Koop American Physician
Walt Disney American Entrepreneur
Milton Friedman American Economist
Franklin D. Roosevelt American Head of State
Sammy Davis, Jr. American Singer
Charles Krauthammer American Political Columnist
Christopher Reeve American Actor