Joseph Merrick

Joseph Merrick was called the Elephant Man because of the abnormal masses of flesh which began growing on his face and body when he was a child. Merrick was first presumed to have elephantiasis and later neurofibramatosis, but more recent studies have suggested that Merrick suffered from a still rarer affliction called Proteus Syndrome, or possibly from a combination of Proteus Syndrome and type 1 neurofibromatosis, called NF1. Treated as a freak for much of his life, Joseph Merrick eventually found work as a sideshow attraction. He was later befriended by surgeon Frederick Treves and ended his days as a permanent resident of London's Whitechapel Hospital, where he died at age 27. His story was revived by the 1980 movie The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch and starring John Hurt as Merrick.