The Tragic History Of The 'Elephant Man'

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Born on August 5, 1862, in Leicester, England, Joseph Carey Merrick was the spitting image of health as a baby. As recounted in Measured by the Soul: The Life of Joseph Carey Merrick, a local newspaper article declared Merrick "a perfect baby." Shortly before he turned 2, abnormalities began to appear. The formerly flawless baby now had a bony growth forming on his forehead, a tumor protruding from his upper lip, and discolored, lumpy skin. It was only the beginning.

As the BBC detailed, the limbs on Merrick's right side became disproportionately large, far outgrowing his left arm and leg. He couldn't stand upright because his spine was "badly curved." To make matters worse, a childhood hip injury rendered him "permanently lame." Over time, he developed "warty growths, the largest of which exuded an unpleasant smell."

Measurements taken when Merrick was in his early 20s showed that one of the fingers had a 5-inch circumference. His right wrist had a 12-inch circumference. His head measured 3 feet around and was so heavy that his body couldn't accommodate it. In 1890, Joseph Merrick died when he decided to lie down. Sources differ on the exact cause, but the weight of his cranium either suffocated him or dislocated his neck. In the years between cradle and grave, he would endure indignity after indignity, cruelty after cruelty, all while battling an illness no one could fathom.

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