The Elephant Man
| Joseph Merrick | |
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Merrick c. 1889
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| Born |
Joseph Carey Merrick 5 August 1862 Leicester, England |
| Died | 11 April 1890 (aged 27) Whitechapel, London, England |
| Cause of death | Dislocated Neck |
| Resting place | Skeleton on display in Royal London Hospital |
| Other names | The Elephant Man John Merrick |
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Parents |
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Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890; often incorrectly called John Merrick) was an English man with very severe deformities who was first exhibited at a freak show as the "Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Frederick Treves, so becoming well known in London society. Merrick was born in Leicester, and began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life: his skin appeared thick and lumpy, he developed enlarged lips, and a bony lump grew on his forehead, one of his arms and both of his feet became enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his hip, resulting in permanent lameness. When he was 9, his mother died from bronchopneumonia, and his father soon remarried. Merrick left school at the age of 13 and had difficulty finding employment. Rejected by his father and stepmother, he left home. In late 1879, Merrick, aged 17, entered the Leicester Union Workhouse.
In 1884, after four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman named Sam Torr and proposed that Torr should exhibit him. Torr agreed and arranged for a group of men to manage Merrick, whom they named the Elephant Man. After touring the East Midlands, Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a penny gaff shop on Whitechapel Road which was rented by showman Tom Norman. Norman's shop, directly across the street from the London Hospital, was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who invited Merrick to be examined and photographed. Soon after Merrick's visits to the hospital, Tom Norman's shop was closed by the police, and Merrick's managers sent him to tour in Europe.
In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels. He eventually made his way back to London; unable to communicate, he was found by the police to have Dr. Treves's card on him. Treves came and took Merrick back to the London Hospital. Although his condition was incurable, Merrick was allowed to stay at the hospital for the remainder of his life. Treves visited him daily, and the pair developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also got visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society, including Alexandra, Princess of Wales.
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Wikipedia