August 16: Chang and Eng

On 16 August 1829, Chang and Eng arrived in the United States. The boys had been born as conjoined twins in Meklong, Siam [now Thailand] in 1811. Although they were primarily of Chinese decent and were known as the Chinese twins in their village, after arriving in America they were known as the Siamese twins. Chang and Eng took the last name of Bunker when they became US citizens.

Chang and Eng were brought to America by Abel Coffin and Robert Hunter in order to be exhibited. After breaking with Coffin and Hunter, they toured with P.T. Barnum. Although conjoined twins were considered monstrous—the boys had initially been ordered killed by King Rama II—Chang and Eng were accepted as performers and made a fortune traveling in both America and Europe.

Chang and Eng settled in Wilkesboro, North Carolina where they married sisters Adelaide and Sarah Yates. Between them, they had 21 children.

The Civil War caused the Chang and Eng financial hardship. Economic hardship was facilitated by President Lincoln’s order that Union states no longer trade with the Confederate states; an order he made on 16 August 1861. Two years later, on 16 August 1863, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed Chang and Eng’s slaves. Union troops also burned one of their homes.

On 17 January 1874, Chang died in his sleep. Three hours later, Eng died.
All these herbs are blended using cialis sale online an advanced herbal formula to treat low sperm count problem. You can get over these blockages with the help of certain medications. viagra online for women was introduced for the only purpose of making people get through erectile dysfunction. Crestor belongs to statins on line levitra Click Here / reductase inhibitors group. To sustain incessant thrust by sustained erection, without premature ejaculation, is manufactured using pure plant ingredients like Sidhha Makardhwaj, Vidarikand, Safed buy brand viagra Behmen, Akarkra, Safed Musli, Semal Musli, Kaunch, Ashwagandha and Shatavari under the supervision of qualified and experienced healthcare professionals.
In 1932, Tod Browning’s Freaks focused on the “freaks” in a traveling circus. Although the movie presents a sensitive love story, because he used real sideshow performers, the film was not well received.

It was not until the middle of the 20th century that exhibiting “freaks of nature” fell out of public favor. Laws began to be passed to prohibit what were known as Freak Shows. Some of the strongest opposition to these laws was from the individuals who made their living exhibiting themselves. They often made good money as performers and wondered where else they could get jobs besides Freak Shows.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

 

 

Posted on by stevenlberg
Categories: American History: Nineteenth Century
Tags: , , , ,

3 Responses

  1. Brooke Bode says:
    11 September 2012 at 2:24 pm

    On this day in the year of 1936, the 11th Olympic Games closed in Berlin. The Olympic Games started on August 1, 1936 and ended on August 16, 1936. There were a total of 49 nations competing with 3,963 participants. In the 11th Olympic Game, there was a total of 129 events. Germany took first place with a total of 33 gold medals. The United States of America followed after with 24 gold medals; taking second place. The Olympics of 1936 was the first time the games were broadcasted live on television. Berlin set up 25 large television screens for the community to watch free of charge. 1936 was also the first time that the Relay of the Torch was broadcasted internationally for the world to see. The torch traveled across 7 countries, starting in Olympia, Greece, and ending in Berlin, Germany.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Orzel says:
    16 September 2012 at 5:54 pm

    Although joined together, Chang and Eng were very different people and had a tendency to argue and fight. Being intolerant of one another, they sought a way to separate themselves. The only option available to them was a dangerous surgical procedure that involved cutting the small piece of cartilage that joined them at the sternum. Not knowing if the procedure would result in death, the brothers were unwilling to risk their lives.

    Medical imagery was not available at the time; the only way a physician could look inside the body was to open it up. Thus, after their deaths in 1834, an autopsy was performed. It was discovered that the brothers’ livers were connected and that surgery would have indeed resulted in death: Chang and Eng would have died of blood loss on the operating table. Their fused liver was preserved is on display at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    Reply
  3. Joe C says:
    9 December 2012 at 10:28 pm

    along with jenifers coment in the 1800s early medicine was scary to begin with not knowing or understanding the human body and the nature of illness. i was surfing the web and found out if chang and eng were to be aputated they wouldve used what they called the amputation knife. the amputation knife was an long curved blade almost like what you would see in a mid evil movie but a little more professional. the blade was typically curve because the doctors/surgeons would make a circular cut through the skin and muscle before the bone was cut by a saw. The straight blades became popular in the mid 1800s because they would have a flap of skin to use to cover up. chang and eng lived a great life making all the money from their freakish ways.

    Reply

Leave a Reply