orig. Joseph (Carey) Merrick
born Aug. 5, 1862, Leicester, Leicestershire, Eng.
died April 11, 1890, London
Englishman disfigured by a disease that caused growths over his skin and bone surfaces.
His head was 3 ft (.9 m) around, with large bags of skin hanging from it, the jaw so deformed he could not speak clearly. One arm ended in a 12-in. (.3-m) wrist and a finlike hand. His legs were similarly deformed, and a defective hip made him lame. He escaped from a workhouse at 21 to join a freak show, where a London physician, Frederick Treves, discovered him and admitted him to London Hospital. He died in his sleep at 27 of accidental suffocation. His disease was probably the very rare Proteus syndrome. A successful play and film were based on Merrick's life.