Elephant Man

5 august 1882. Leicester. England. Joseph Carey Merrick was born. A boy. Like all the others.

1887. Joseph Carey Merrick. A boy. Elephant Man.

Incorrectly named John Merrick, he was the subject of Frederick Treves, a famous surgeon who officiate at the Royal College of Medecine in London. Her face was deformed because the syndrome of Protée, a genetic desease who can entail lot deformations. Joseph Merrick was the most famous case : his mouth was hidden by an exgrowth, his body was twisted in a very incomfortable position and the weight of the head prevented him from sleeping lengthened if he wouldn't die.

During a lot of time, Joseph Merrick exploiting his deformations in a circus, showen as an animal, and by this way earn money for his life.

Not prepared to be a famous person, Joseph Merrick will be encontred some difficultes in London society,  who qualifiate him like a stupid, an idiot personne who wasn't  capable of communicating nor of understanding the world. But in reality, the "Elephant man" was listen all the subjects and he loves littérature.

After some years of walk in Europe, Joseph Merrick back home into the London Hospital where it was authorized to stay till the end of his life to live there, where he met Alexandra, Princess of Wales, and other people.

Merrick's death was ruled accidental and the cause of death entered on his death certificate was asphyxia, caused by the weight of his head as he lay down. Treves  said that the cause of death was a dislocated nake and came to the conclusion that he must have "made the experiment", attempting to sleep lying down, trying to sleep like other people.