Solving the mystery of the Elephant Man?

Blackleaf

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Tests are being carried out to establish the genetic condition of the Elephant Man.

A team at Queen Mary University of London is using new techniques to extract DNA from his bones. Previous attempts failed because the skeleton was cleaned with bleach-like agents.

The Elephant Man - whose real name was Joseph Merrick - was an object of fascination in the Victorian period; his curved spine, overgrown skull and ‘trunk-like’ facial growth made him a popular freak show attraction.

Merrick’s skeleton has been stored at Queen Mary University of London since 1995, and has been used as a learning resource since 2005.

Now, researchers hope to use new techniques to recreate Merrick’s DNA sequence.

By comparing DNA extracted from both a normal part of his skeleton, and a part affected by his deformities, the team hopes to spot differences in the DNA sequence. This should enable them to better understand what genetic condition Merrick suffered from.

Joseph Merrick was born in Leicester on 5th August 1862.

He began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life. His skin appeared thick and lumpy, he developed an enlargement of his lips, and a bony lump grew on his forehead. One of his arms and both feet became enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his hip, resulting in permanent lameness.

When he was 10, his mother died and his father soon remarried. His stepmother didn't want him in the house. Merrick left school at 13, and had difficulty finding employment.


He tried to become a hawker [seller] of goods, but it’s documented that he scared more people than he sold to. So that didn’t work out.


He then tried to get a job rolling cigars, but his deformities meant he was unable to do so. So he ended up in the workhouse


Rejected by his father and stepmother, he left home. In late 1879, aged 17, Merrick entered the Leicester Union Workhouse.


In 1884, after four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman named Sam Torr and proposed that Torr should exhibit him. Merrick felt it was the only way he could earn a living. Torr agreed, and arranged for a group of men to manage Merrick, whom they named the Elephant Man. After touring the East Midlands, Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a penny gaff shop on Whitechapel Road which was rented by showman Tom Norman. Norman's shop, directly across the street from the London Hospital, was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who invited Merrick to be examined and photographed. Soon after Merrick's visits to the hospital, Tom Norman's shop was closed by the police and Merrick's managers sent him to tour in Europe.


In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels. He eventually made his way back to London; unable to communicate, he was found by the police to have Frederick Treves' card on him. Treves came and took Merrick back to the London Hospital. Although his condition was incurable, Merrick was allowed to stay at the hospital in his own special room for the remainder of his life. Treves visited him daily and the pair developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also received visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society, including Alexandra, Princess of Wales.


Merrick died at the London Hospital on 11th April 1890, aged just 27. The official cause of death was asphyxia, although Treves, who dissected the body, said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck. He believed that Merrick—who had to sleep sitting up because of the weight of his head—had been attempting to sleep lying down, to "be like other people".


Solving the mystery of the Elephant Man?


Tuesday 7th January 2014
Submitted by Emma McFarnon
BBC History Magazine


Tests are being carried out to establish the genetic condition suffered by Joseph Carey Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man.

A team at Queen Mary University of London is using new techniques to extract DNA from Merrick’s bones. Previous attempts failed because the skeleton was cleaned with bleach-like agents.

Merrick was an object of fascination in the Victorian period; his
curved spine, overgrown skull and ‘trunk-like’ facial growth made him a popular freak show attraction.

Merrick’s skeleton has been stored at Queen Mary University of London since 1995, and has been used as a learning resource since 2005.

Now, researchers hope to use new techniques to recreate Merrick’s DNA sequence.

By comparing DNA extracted from both a normal part of his skeleton, and a part affected by his deformities, the team hopes to spot differences in the DNA sequence. This should enable them to better understand what genetic condition Merrick suffered from.

Researchers are currently testing their technique on a sample extracted from the skeleton of a woman who died around the same time as Merrick.



Professor Richard Trembath, vice-principal for health at Queen Mary University of London and the custodian of Merrick's body, told historyextra: “We have, over the years, refined the way in which we obtain DNA, and we now feel confident we have good quality DNA from our test skeleton.

“We have sent it away to the sequencing lab, and if successful, we will then use the same technique to obtain a sample from Merrick.

“But trying to spot a difference in DNA sequences is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“And to add to the challenge, we will only extract a small sample, to try to cause minimal damage to Merrick’s skeleton.

“Obtaining DNA is also made more difficult because our predecessors cleaned the skeleton with bleach-like agents.”

Prof Trembath continued: “This is such an important project – it is likely to provide us with a better understanding of how cells work. It has real scientific value.

“I am cautiously confident we will find out what genetic condition Merrick suffered from. Once we have a sample, it may take just three months until we have answers.

“But we face numerous challenges, and even if we obtain a sample, it will be hard to be sure that we have isolated normal DNA from abnormal DNA, as even bones that look normal may in fact not be.”

Solving the mystery of the Elephant Man? | History Extra



Merrick's former home: The Royal London Hospital, much of which has been rebuilt, is today the largest hospital in Europe


Your guide to the Elephant Man

Tuesday 7th January 2014
Submitted by Emma McFarnon
BBC History Magazine


Joseph Merrick, circa 1889

He was the star attraction at Victorian London freak shows; his curved spine, overgrown skull and ‘trunk-like’ facial growth making him an object of fascination among doctors and the public alike. Now, researchers may be on the verge of establishing the genetic condition Joseph Carey Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man, suffered from.

A team at Queen Mary University of London is using new techniques to extract DNA from Merrick’s bones. Previous attempts failed because the skeleton was bleached in order to clean it.

Merrick’s skeleton has been stored at Queen Mary University of London since 1995, and has been used as a learning resource since 2005. We spoke to Steve Moore, who manages the skeleton, to find out more about Merrick, and how he came to be known as the Elephant Man.




Q: Who was Joseph Merrick?

A: Merrick was born in Leicester. His deformities began to emerge at the age of five, and they forced him to leave school at 13. His right arm was two or three times the size of the left one, and his feet were deformed.

His mother died, and his stepmother did not want him in the home.

Merrick tried to become a hawker [seller] of goods, but it’s documented that he scared more people than he sold to. So that didn’t work out.

He then tried to get a job rolling cigars, but his deformities meant he was unable to do so. So he ended up in the workhouse.

It was so awful, he felt the only way to make money was to join the circus. He contacted showman Tom Norman, and went to London to star in his freak shows.

There has been a lot of debate about whether Norman was using or abusing Merrick. Merrick made a lot of money starring in the shows, but Norman made more.

Whatever the truth, Merrick never experienced freedom.

He arrived in London aged 22, and appeared in freak shows before heading to Belgium.

He then came back to London and became destitute. He was taken to London Hospital in a poor state aged 24. He spent his last years in the hospital, dying aged 27.

During his time in hospital he was visited by famous people from the theatre, as well as Princess Alexandra. This was largely because public opinion had turned against freak shows - freak shows were shut down and royal societies founded, in order to restore medicine’s professional image.




Q: What were Merrick’s deformities?

A: He had scoliosis; an overgrown right arm; skull bone outgrowth; and skin protruded from his face like a trunk. This is where the association with elephants came from. And it was claimed that his mother, when pregnant with him, was knocked down by an elephant.

It was amazing how the myth of the Elephant Man perpetuated over the years.

He was unable to talk, and struggled to eat. He was also lame in one leg. People thought he was an imbecile.

He taught himself to read and write, and survived in very poor conditions. He was kept – even in winter – in a shop in Mile End (in East London), where a single flame was the only source of heat or light.

Just think about the quality of food that he would have eaten, and the difficulty that he would have had eating it. You or I would have gone mad with frustration.


Q: How was Merrick received by the public?

A: He attracted plenty of interest in the Victorian period, from the mid to late 1800s. The public was, at that time, intrigued by anatomy and freak shows.

It was the height of the British Empire – for the first time people had disposable incomes, and free time. Anatomy became an incredibly popular part of freak shows.

Showmen were always looking for more and more things to display – the very tall or very thin; the bearded lady; conjoined twins. But no one had seen Merrick’s level of deformity.




Your guide to Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man | History Extra
 
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Sal

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 29, 2007
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The good news is that people like Blacklout mocked and vilified him. . .
it's heartbreaking when you think how his step mother didn't want him to live there and he ended up in a work house and the tragedy just gets worse from there...mans inhumanity to man is really displayed by this poor guy...
 

Blackleaf

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He lived during harsh times. Nowadays such freak shows just fill people with horror and revulsion. Back then, though, they were just seen as a normal part of society.