'Elephant Man' | Human Freak Joseph Merrick #uktruecrime #history #britishmystery

Joseph was born into poverty in Leicester, England on the 5th of August 1862.

Joseph Merrick’s physical disabilities or abnormalities only began to develop and show around the age of 2. When he began to develop swellings on his lips, followed by a bony lump on his forehead and a loosening and roughening of the skin. As he grew, a noticeable difference between the size of his left and right arms appeared and both his feet became significantly enlarged.

This is the turn of the century, science and medicine are still in their infancy, and superstitious beliefs are still the norm especially in the working class. Hence why the Merrick family explained Josephs symptoms as the result of his mother Mary being knocked over and frightened by a fairground elephant while she was pregnant with Joseph.

When Joseph was 22 and desperate to escape the workhouse he contacted a showman and contrary to popular belief it was Joseph who proposed that he might be exhibited and put on tour as at this time victorian freak shows were still quite popular. He would die 5 years later...

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References:
Wikipedia