Person    | Male  Born 5/8/1862  Died 11/4/1890

Joseph Merrick / John Merrick

Categories: Medicine

"The Elephant Man". Born Leicester. Began to develop severe abnormalities within a few years. By aged 17 his mother had died, his father and step-mother had rejected him, and failing to find a job, he entered the Leicester Union workhouse. After 4 years there Merrick contacted a showman with a business proposition: that the showman should exhibit Merrick. They toured the East Midlands and then came to London where the show took place in Whitechapel Road immediately opposite the London Hospital.

Frederick Treves, a surgeon from the Hospital visited the show and invited Merrick to the hospital to be examined and photographed. Merrick's show then went to Brussels where his road manager robbed and abandoned him. With great difficulty he made his way back to London and made contact with Treves who invited him to stay at the Hospital, where he stayed for the rest of his life, which was relatively comfortable and happy.

2018: Londonist tells us that, now the Royal London Hospital, there is a small museum there which includes information on Merrick.

2019: On his death Merrick's skeleton was preserved at the London Hospital but his soft tissue was buried.  The cemetery and the exact plot have now been identified.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Joseph Merrick / John Merrick

Commemorated ati

Mile End mural

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People's Dispensary for Sick Animals

People's Dispensary for Sick Animals

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Matthew Bell

Matthew Bell

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Lt.-Col. Francis A. Brooks, MD, MRCS

Lt.-Col. Francis A. Brooks, MD, MRCS

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Person, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
William Moorcroft

William Moorcroft

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Person, Animals, Exploring, Medicine, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Tibet, Uzbekistan

1 memorial
Cecil J. R. MacFadden, OBE, MD

Cecil J. R. MacFadden, OBE, MD

Assistant Commissioner in the St John Ambulance Brigade, No. 1 District Metropolitan Corps, 1903-1930. Commander in the Order of St John.

Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Paul Reuter bust

Paul Reuter bust

EC4, Royal Exchange Buildings

This style of bust, called a herm bust, originated in ancient Greece. Oddly, male genitalia are sometimes carved on the plain section, in...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
HMS Victory

HMS Victory

HMS Victory was built in the Old Single Dock in Chatham's Royal Dockyard.  From her website "she would gain renown leading fleets in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War a...

Vehicle, Armed Forces

1 memorial
Ada House

Ada House

E2, Pritchard's Road, Ada House

Ada House This block was built in 1937 by the London County Council and was named after Ada Place in which the block is situated; which i...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
James Gallaher, FRAS

James Gallaher, FRAS

Commoner on the Bridge House Estates Committee, 1894. May 2018: Gallaher’s second 2nd great-grandson, Craig Gallaher, has generously provided the following information, and the photo (c.1890): Ja...

Person, Politics & Administration, Ireland

1 memorial
Hitchcock mosaics 16 - The Wrong Man, 1956

Hitchcock mosaics 16 - The Wrong Man, 1956

E11, Church Lane, Leytonstone tube station

6 artists/craftspeople and 5 organisations are named as creating this Gallery of 17 murals. Rather than repeat this information on all 17...

1 subject commemorated