10 interesting stories about the famous Siamese twins

Despite all the difficulties, they have achieved fame

Now Siamese twins - not such a rarity, as before. There are several reasons for this: firstly, the number of people with congenital anomalies depend on the total number of the world's population, and secondly, medicine has leaped forward, and conjoined twins are now much more likely to survive birth. Once they were considered ugly - now it is different. Many conjoined twins can be separated, but some prefer to live together for life.

However, only a few decades ago, the fate of all conjoined twins was one - fun to serve the public. For them, it was the easiest way to earn a living, and often even earn good money. We want to tell you about a few of Siamese twins, which in the past were famous.

1. Byzantine twins

The couple nameless Siamese twins in the X-th century managed to survive in its infancy, as evidenced by the records left by several historians of the time. Ten centuries ago, conjoined twins were not enough, as in the ancient world, congenital anomalies were considered a bad omen, and therefore children are often allowed to die.

The boys were born in Armenia and as adults have arrived in Constantinople. They were known at the imperial court, and later wandered through villages, exposing themselves on display. Approximately during the reign of Constantine VII in. mid-900s, they returned to Constantinople, where one of the twins died. Doctors attempted to separate them - it was the first operation of its kind in history. Unfortunately, the second twin was able to spend only three days.

2 Hungarian sisters

Helen and Judith were born in Hungary in 1701, the year presumably at intervals of three hours. True or not, frightened and exhausted mother's birth appeared a terrible sight: the cans girls were fused back to back. From two to nine years old girls paraded across Europe and in each country examined their local doctors. Sisters learned many languages ​​and sang a duet to the public. Judith's sister, who was born second, was physically weaker: in six years, she suffered a stroke, leaving the left half of her body was paralyzed, so later when walking it relied on stronger Helen.

When she was nine years old, they went to the monastery, where he lived in seclusion until his death, they died in one day at the age of 22 years.

3. Chang and Eng Bunker

, Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Thailand (then called Siam State) in 1811. Their birth has caused such a stir that the King of Siam ordered the killing of children, but the mother refused to give his boys, so that the order of the king was not executed. They have become so well-known that in a few years "Siamese twins" became known all conjoined twins, but if we talk specifically about Chang and Enge, their so called simply because they were born in Siam.

British merchant Robert Hunter came to the twins when they were teenagers, and decided to take them to England. Over the years, Chang and Eng traveled to England and the United States, showing his body and ability. When he was 21, Chang and Eng led his business and began to receive a lot of money.

In 1839 they gave up show business and bought a farm in North Carolina. They married two sisters, despite the objections of the parents of the girls, and 21 gave birth to the child. Several times, Chang and Eng asked physicians to separate them, but at the time the doctor did not even undertook to tell what will happen. They were fused until his death in 1874, the year when one twin died, the second lived only three hours.

4. Millie and Christine McCoy

Millie and Christine McCoy were born in North Carolina in 1851 in a family of slaves belonging Dzhebezu McKay. When he was eight months old, the owner sold the twins with her mother to John Purvis. Purvis resold them to Joseph Smith, Pearson and his partner called Brower. Then the girls kidnapped, they found only three years later in England and returned to the United States. When the girls grew up, they learned to sing a duet for the show. Their master died in 1862, the year, and the twins passed by inheritance to his younger son, Joseph, who came up with them another legend. He told the audience that the audience - not Siamese twins, and one girl with two heads, four arms and four legs. Millie and Christine went on stage under the pseudonym of two-headed Nightingale and were renamed Millie-Christine as if were really one person.

They sang, danced and played musical instruments; Girls enjoyed great success and after the abolition of slavery have earned a lot of money already touring for themselves. Showbiz sisters left at age 58, settling in North Carolina in Columbus and again becoming Millie and Christine.

They died in 1912 at the age of 61-year intervals of 17 hours.

5. Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci

Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci lokanam born in Italy, around 1875 or 1877, the year. Their father was so shocked by the appearance of twins, it has gone mad and about a month after the birth of sons was in a psychiatric hospital.

It seemed that the children were a boy with two trunks that grew from one belt, but in fact they were two different people. When doctors examined them in Europe, it is confirmed that each twin could feel and control only one leg - they never learned to walk on his feet, but could crawl.

Most of the time the twins got along well, and during the conflict exchanging blows. Childhood Tocci brothers spent touring Europe, and in 1891 moved to America, where he spent five years. In 1897, nearly reaching adulthood, Giacomo and Giovanni settled in a villa in Venice, voluntarily retiring from society and leading an extremely secluded lifestyle. Their later life little is known. There were false rumors that they married two women. They died after 1912, but the exact date of their death is also unknown.

6. Rosa and Josefa Blazek

Rose and Joseph Blazek was born in Skrezhove, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) in 1878. The sisters were fused in the pelvic area and have enough common bones to separation was impossible. In Blazek we toured for many years, but gradually the visitors, and therefore money becomes less and less.

In 1909 came the news in the papers that Rose is pregnant, and in 1910 she gave birth to a boy really, named Franz. As for the father, some newspapers wrote that we know who this person is, but his marriage with Rosa is impossible, because in fact it would be bigamy. Others wrote that he and Rose were married, but he died in the war.

Rosa herself never said who was the father, and the child grew up an orphan, that significantly supported the twin careers - Petite France is always accompanied by Rose and Joseph during the tour. When in 1922 the sisters fell ill, suddenly appeared in their brother, he said that he would take care of the sisters. In fact, he wanted to make sure that they are still not separated, and he will inherit all of their state.

The twins died almost simultaneously, and their condition was $ 400.

7. Orissan sisters

The charming Radhika and Dudik Neykov born in 1888 in Orissa, India. Local residents decided that the conjoined babies - it's a bad omen, and the father himself wanted to separate them, but Radhika and Dudik fused cartilage on the chest, as well as Chang and Eng Bunkers.

In 1888, the girls bought a showman nicknamed Captain Coleman (Captain Colman) - he began to show them in Europe as "exotic", indusok twins. They have gained immense popularity when in 1902 Dudik contracted tuberculosis, and Dr. Eugene Louis Doyen from Paris to urgently conducted operation to separate, to save the lives of at least Radhika. The operation was successful, the girls shared, but the next day Dudik died: an autopsy revealed that the cause of her death was tuberculosis, but not the operation of the division. However, Radhika too ill with tuberculosis and died in a Paris sanatorium year later. Dr. Doyen shot operation, and as a result the film shows the audience instead of twins.

8. Violet and Daisy Hilton

Violet and Daisy Hilton were born in the UK in 1908, they have grown together in the pelvis, but no vital organs general they did not. Twins Mary Hilton bought their mother-barmaid, and on his first show there were girls in three years.

Girls sang, danced and played musical instruments, giving views over the whole of Europe and the United States, and when Mary Hilton died, the twins went to her daughter and son in law. In 1931 they moved to their "masters" in court and gained their freedom and $ 100,000.

Then they came up with its own theater and continued to tour with this number even when the steel older. They starred in two films - "Freaks" of 1932 and his own fictionalized biopic "Bound for Life" 1951..

In 1961, their tour manager threw them in North Carolina, and they had to get a job at the local grocery store - that's where they remained until his death from the flu in 1969. According to the forensic medical examination, Violetta, after the death of Daisy lived still two to four days, but she did not have the possibility to call for help.

9. Simplicio and Lucio Godin

and Simplicio Godina, Lucio was born in 1908 in the city of Samar, Philippines. Two boys have grown together cartilage and skin in the pelvic area, back to back, but at the same time be flexible enough to be able to turn to each other face. On tour in the United States 11-year-old boys saw a rich Filipino Theodore Yangeo, which drove them to Manila, raised in luxury and took care of their good education. In 1928, Simplicio and Lucio married sisters-twins (not conjoined) Natividad and quizzes Matos. But first Godin brothers had to prove in court that they really are two different people - this encounter difficulties, when the clerk refused to issue them a marriage certificate. When the process is completed, the two couples were married, and Simplicio and Lucio played musical instruments and danced with their wives.

In 1936, when Godin brothers were still young, Lucio pneumonia. Emergency operation to separate held immediately after his death, but Simplicio contracted spinal meningitis and died 12 days later.

10. Margaret and Mary Gibb

Margaret and Mary Gibb were born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1912. They fared better than many other Siamese twins, their parents did not want to put them on display, sell or exploit. They also did not want to separate the girls, although some doctors offered to do the surgery, inspired, no doubt, the success of Dr. Doyena.

Margaret and Mary learned at home in private. But in 14 years, they decided that they could make their own decisions about their lives, and went to New York in hopes of becoming a successful actress. Over the next few decades, they have played in small theaters and the circus.

Twice there were rumors that Margaret is engaged, and once people started to say that the twins soon parted. But they were never separated, married, none of the sisters, too, did not come out, so that all these rumors could just be a publicity stunt.

The twins returned to the Holyoke in 1942 year and opened a store. In 1949, the year they are completely out of business, and lived quiet, unremarkable life until 1966, when Margaret was diagnosed with - cancer. But even then, Gibb twins abandoned operations division and died in 1967, at an interval of a few minutes.