BIRTH(+)FACT(᙮)DEATH(-)

39th year  -  N° 327                 Friday, 22 November 2024         Antwerpen		
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BirthFactDeath (+)
Sunday 5th of August 1860

164 years ago



Joseph Carey Merrick aka The Elephant Man is born in 50 Lee Street, Leicester, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

Merrick began to develop swellings on his lips at the age of 21 months followed by a bony lump on his forehead and a loosening and roughening of the skin. The Merrick family explained his symptoms as the result of his mother Mary Jane Potterton being knocked over and frightened by a fairground elephant while she was pregnant with Joseph.