Circus of Freaks as it used to be called. Minion - penguin girl

infinity eyes of the Masonic bird

Oh, how I’ve been meaning to make this post for a long time)) finally got around to it. I want to invite you into the world of the 19th century, in which such a popular phenomenon as the “Circus of Freaks” flourished everywhere, and show you its main “exhibits”. I think you will find it interesting.

I'm warning you. Some things may be shocking, so watch at your own risk.

Standard freaks

1. Bearded women
Oddly enough, many women have the ability to grow mustaches and beards. The abnormal growth of these male characteristics is due to an excess of androgenic hormones in female body. In the 19th century, a bearded woman had to be present in every circus - there were so many such freaks that spectators were only interested in those who had additional oddities. For example, gray beard or lack of hands. No one was interested in an ordinary black beard anymore. Most bearded women successfully married and gave birth to children - their feature only added piquancy to them.
The most famous bearded women in history were the Mexican Julia Pastrana, who was taken to Europe as a child in 1840 and lived in St. Petersburg from 1858-1860. This unusual woman, however, never ceased to have admirers - nobles - and died from unsuccessful childbirth.

Julia Pastrana

Other famous bearded ladies included Jane Barnelly (Lady Olga) and Annie Jones, and the Frenchwoman Clementine Deleit even ran a café called The Bearded Woman's.

Annie Jones

Jane Barnelly

They were the most common circus participants of the 19th century.

2. Wolf people.
People suffering from hypertrichosis - increased hair growth throughout the body. The most famous wolf boy was Fyodor Evtishchev, who inherited his face from his father.

Fedor Evtishchev

Today, such patients lead normal lives because hair growth is easily suppressed hormonally.

3. People with skin abnormalities
The most common group of people with skin conditions were those with "crocodile" or "elephant" skin, the result of a severe form of ichthyosis. This disease is expressed in a violation of the upper integument - the skin becomes multi-colored and keratinized. Famous alligators were the girl crocodile Susie and Ralph Krooner, a man with keratinized feet.

Susie

The second large group were people with elastic skin - patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The synthesis of collagen, a protein that is the basis of connective tissue, is disrupted, and as a result, the skin becomes hyperelastic and the joints become hypermobile, even to the point of bending the fingers. reverse side.
One of the most famous elastic men was James Morris, who opened a very popular barber shop after the end of the performances.

James Morris

4. Skeletons and fat men
Unusually thin and monstrously fat people most often performed in joint numbers. The most famous couple were husband and wife - skeleton Pete Robinson (26 kg) and fat Bunny Smith (212 kg).

Husband and wife

Peter had a classic theater education and played the harmonica superbly. Many "skeletons" were often educated people and subsequently made careers in other fields, since their strangeness was easily hidden under clothes.

Peter Robinson

5. Lost Limbs
Unlike other freaks who demonstrated their oddities, those without limbs had to study and work, because the audience was primarily interested not in the absence of arms, but in the ability to shave their legs.
The most popular were the “living torsos,” such as Prince Randian, the serpent man. Deprived of arms and legs, he himself took out a cigarette and lit it, drew, wrote, moved. He was also married twice and had six children.

Prince Randian

In addition, Lilliputians and giant men and various Siamese twins could often be observed.

Artificial freaks

Integral participants in the freak show were amazing people without any flaws. For example, women with extra-long hair were highly valued, like the seven Sutherland sisters, who all had hair lengths of about 14 meters.

sisters

Strong men, sword swallowers, even albinos and representatives of relict tribes brought from Africa were also popular. Like Sarah "Sartgy" Bartman, a native South Africa, was a very famous freak early XIX century, "Hottentot Venus". She, like all women of her tribe, had steatopygia, excessive body fat on the buttocks.

Was special group artificial hermaphrodites - people who make up half their body as a man and the other half as a woman. A particularly famous character was Josephine Joseph.

Josephine Joseph

Unique freaks

Bearded women and skeleton people were quite common, but the real success of the circus was given to freaks with unique anomalies, such as:

1. Camel girl

The most famous freak late XIX century there was Ella Harper, a camel girl who suffered from reverse knee syndrome. She was born in 1873 and if her knees had not bent in the opposite direction, she would have been completely an ordinary child. Performing in the circus, she earned about $200 a week, repeating the habits of a camel in her act.

ella harper

2. Woman baby
Jellyfish van Allen, nicknamed "Little Miss Sunshine," was born in 1908 and suffered from a unique genetic bone disorder that caused only her head to grow. She could not stand or sit - she could only lie. In freak shows, she usually played the role of a baby - she was carried onto the stage in her arms, rocked, cradled, and then she suddenly began to talk and talk about philosophy, plunging the audience into delight.

3. people with spinal deformity
The most famous freak this kind there was a certain Leonard Trask, born in England in 1805. At the age of 28, he fell from a horse and suffered a curvature of the spine. Another 7 years later, he fell out of the crew and received a number of fractures. Over the next 18 years, his spine curved and his nose ended up buried in his chest. He no longer saw anything in front of him and made his living only by demonstrating strangeness.

Leonard Trask

4. penguin people
People with phocomelia were in high demand. With this disease, the hands and/or feet are attached directly to the body - without shoulders, forearms, or legs.

boy seal

This also includes the fairly common disease ecrodactyly - lobster people. With this disease, the number and shape of fingers and toes are arbitrary. Most often these are just two fingers on the hands, resembling claws. A famous freak of this kind was Grady Stiles Jr., a unique third-generation “lobster.”

Grady

The most famous of these circuses were W. H. Harris's Nickel Plate Circus, the Congress of Living Freaks show and the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. The "artists" received high salaries, signed contracts for performances - and generally lived almost like normal people, got married and had children. Many healthy people deliberately mutilated themselves, for example, in order to get into famous circus Barnum.
Todd Browning's 1932 film "Freaks" shows from the outside a typical freak show, with a standard set and the actors there are real people who performed in various circuses.

After World War II, freak shows fell out of favor dramatically. Society has become more rigid in ethical terms, and many freaks who received a lot of money before the war vegetated in poverty and obscurity after it.
Today, freak shows as such do not exist; the majority of disabled people are cured and provided with a normal existence. In the 19th century, there would have been only one road for them - to the circus of freaks. But this road also had the good side- many freaks earned a lot of money and could provide for themselves much better healthy people. So what is it complex issue- who is happier - today's disabled people or the freaks from the circus of those times.

the text was compiled using the magazine "World of Science Fiction" No. 97

The human sense of beauty and aesthetic satisfaction are a set of complex and often paradoxical features and qualities that are quite difficult to explain. Open the most beautiful rose garden, and opposite it - the Cabinet of Curiosities, and watch the crowd: a lot of people will gather to look at the deformities and imperfections more people than to enjoy the aroma of blooming buds.

It is difficult to say who was the first to understand that the “unexpected mutilated” is much more attractive than the “expected beautiful,” but it can definitely be said that the first nation to make a show out of this were the Americans. Their circuses of freaks were famous throughout the world as rocking camps of outcast tramps who only knew how to pose and learned not to react to the cries of a discouraged crowd. Due to the fact that this cultural phenomenon Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk dedicated the fourth season of their series " American history horrors,” we recalled the history of the appearance and disappearance of traveling show freaks in Europe and the USA.

Even before the creation of circuses, in Europe there were single nomads who performed in squares for food and meager remuneration. One of the most famous “artists” of the first half XVII century were brothers Lazarus and Johannes Baptista Colloredo. Born in 1617 in Genoa, Italy, Siamese twins, one with the chest and head of the other protruding from the body, wandered through the then poor, sickly Europe. Historians believe the brothers were mentally retarded, mute, and hard of hearing. They became famous mainly thanks to their visit to the court of Charles I - the king of England, like all monarchs of that time, loved to collect curiosities, but this one did not take root at his court for long.

If the human phenomenon could be actively used in some way - for example, organizing weight lifting for strongmen, letting someone in the audience hold a sword that would then be swallowed, or allowing a child from the crowd to comb the performer's shaggy face - an additional fee was charged for this.

WITH XVI century physical anomalies at birth are no longer considered an omen of the appearance of devilish offspring, evil spirits and evil spirits. In the 19th century, when among the population of Europe there were enough freaks of all stripes to create, for example, a national or cultural minority, “managers” began to work with them - people who guaranteed protection to tramps in exchange for a solid percentage of their earnings, and also provided artists shelter and food. In the USA, freak circuses have become a profitable business.

There were quite a lot of circus programs with the participation of people with certain anomalies. If the human phenomenon could be actively used in some way - for example, organizing weight lifting for strongmen, letting someone in the audience hold a sword that would then be swallowed, or allowing a child from the crowd to comb the performer's shaggy face - an additional fee was charged for this. The rest of the artists were put on the platform, turning the show into museum exhibits. There were usually ten of them, hence the name - Ten in One. An analogue of the domestic cabinet of curiosities, in addition to the Egyptian Hall of Anomalies in Piccadilly Circus in the UK, was the American exhibition “pickled punks” (“pickled rubbish”) - an event in which jars with mutilated animals or children, embryos or parts preserved in alcohol stood in orderly rows human body, including tattooed skin.

The first “test” American freak show appeared in 1829 - the main exhibit was the Siamese twins Chan and En. In 1844, American circus pioneer and manager P.T. Barnum, traveled around England with his companion Tom Thumb (a nickname similar to “Tom Thumb”). The tiny man entertained the public with funny performances and parodies of the military of the time, for which he later received the nickname General Tom Thumb. A year later, Barnum and Tom Thumb reached the court of Queen Victoria - with them came a mermaid, which Barnum passed off as a strange creature acquired from merchants from Fiji - a state practically unknown to Americans and Europeans at that time. In fact, the “mermaid” was an exhibit made from a small monkey with the tail part of a large fish sewn onto it and covered with a papier-mâché shell.

In general, Barnum was still a charlatan - in 1860 his camp was joined by William Henry Johnson, who in different time the enterprising manager called him either a “monkey man” or a gnome. Johnson was a dark-skinned microcephalic who spoke incoherently in a mysterious language invented by Barnum himself. During civil war Barnum sheltered crippled saboteurs, inventing various legends for them.

Barnum's English colleague, who performed in London and young America, was Tom Norman. In his circus there were a “skeleton woman”, a “ball-headed” child, a lady who bit off the heads of live rats, fat women, giants and gnomes, who were carefully made up before each performance and forced to speak the language of the “mysterious Zulu”.

The most important role in the panopticon was played by the showman-host, often himself with some minor deformity, such as a sixth finger or a cleft lip.

In addition to voluntarily joining the freak show troupe, there were cases when actors were taken there without their consent. The most famous of these involved Chinese man Hu Lu, who arrived in England for surgery to remove a 25kg scrotal tumor. At the station he was met by one of the circus managers, offering him a job, but he somehow explained through an interpreter that he had come to England to undergo surgery. The manager kept track of which hospital he would be sent to and signed up to watch the operation, which ended unsuccessfully. After the procedure, he secretly acquired the corpse of a Chinese man from the clinic authorities, and transported his genitals preserved in alcohol around the country for a good ten years.

The most important role in the panopticon was played by the showman-host, often himself with some minor deformity, such as a sixth finger or a cleft lip. He was invited to comment on exhibitions, for which run-down grocery stores or any other stores rented for a time were used as sites. Contrary to popular belief, similar shows Most often they were held in the evenings to avoid problems with the police. There were no riots at such events: bouncers usually talked to the drunken guests of the events, but the intelligentsia were often not allowed into the shows by purchased police officers: the fact is that the managers of the shows were afraid that among them there would be a doctor who, instead of admiration, would share with the crowd his opinions about about how low and vile it is to use people with various medical pathologies to make money.

Freak shows began to exhaust themselves in 1890, when science in the USA and Europe gradually began to fight back against obscurantism and religious frenzy, greedy for miracles. The year 1950 marked the almost complete disappearance of the circus of curiosities: on the one hand, people lost interest in monstrosities, on the other, moral pressure on the managers of such entertainment increased among social and political figures in the USA and Great Britain. In the twenties, lawyers first started talking about the rights of people with disabilities, of whom there were plenty after the First World War, construction railways and the growth in the number of water transport allowed people to travel on their own, realizing that there were no mysterious tribes of gnomes and mermaids beyond the ocean. Most of the freak circus exhibits were examined by doctors; pathologies were no longer admired - they began to be treated.

Currently, modern, adapted freak circuses, human zoos, cabinets of curiosities and other outlandish places remain as entertainment rudiments without commercial success. Having lost their former mass appeal, they have become isolated cases without global cultural influence.

Circus of freaks is a genre of circus performances in which the actors are crippled and simply strange people. The genre was most popular in the 19th century in the USA; now it is banned in most countries as degrading the disabled and crippled.
The origin of the genre began approximately in the 16th century, when the circus and farce business began to take shape in profitable business, circus troupes began to consist of many people, different talents and advantages. At the same time, the circus repertoire began to include acts demonstrating people with various physical deformities and disabilities, but these acts never became the “highlight” of the circus.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the genre of “freaks” almost completely fell away from the usual circus: enterprising businessmen began to pick up various ugly and wretched people on the street in order to demonstrate them at specialized performances. The first performance of the official “Freak Show” is considered to be a showing in Europe of a woman taken from Guinea, allegedly possessing a monkey’s head.
IN European countries The “Circus of Freaks” was never able to gain popularity in people’s hearts, remaining the lot of eccentric connoisseurs of such spectacles. The real “boom” in the genre occurred in the 19th century, when the idea of ​​the “Circus of Freaks” crawled to the United States and fell into the hands of businessman Phineas Taylor Barnum, who was looking for any way to make money. In 1835, Barnum bought an old black fish, Joyce Heth, and began taking her around cities, telling tales that she was 161 years old and was the nanny of the future US President, George Washington. It sounds like incredible nonsense, but Americans came in droves to look at the old black woman. Interestingly, there were wild rumors among the audience that the old woman was not real, but was an incredible robot doll.
The old woman died of old age seven months after the start of the tour, but even from this Barnum managed to make money by arranging a show from the autopsy of the deceased, to which anyone could come for 50 cents and see that the black woman was real - flesh and blood. Also, during the autopsy, it was revealed that Joyce was no more than 80 years old at the time of death, but despite this, rumors spread among viewers that Barnum replaced the robot doll with the body of a real person.
Despite Joyce's death, Barnum found his recognition. Since 1841, he began to engage in organized demonstrations of various curiosities and freaks - both real and skillfully made up. One of Barnum's most popular exhibits is a wild mixture of the remains of a small monkey and a large fish.
In addition, Barnum came up with a detailed legend and image for each of his actors, which the actor had to tirelessly follow on stage. With all this, Barnum paid his actors generously - the most popular ones received up to $500 for one performance, which was crazy money at that time.
Fyodor Evtishchev, the so-called “wolf man”, completely covered with hair, was widely known. He was born in St. Petersburg. According to the story invented by Barnum, Fedor was wild man, raised by wolves. Accordingly, on stage Fedor only barked and growled.
The decline of the “Circus of Freaks” occurred in the 1930s, after the emergence of a tendency to protect the rights of everyone and everything, and after the release of the film “Freaks” (1932), which showed the life of a circus of freaks from the inside, the public demanded a ban on such circuses altogether. Many actors of the “ugly” genre found themselves on the street without a livelihood, and before that they were stars with enormous earnings.

“Circuses of freaks” appeared back in the 16th century. The audience had fun, being horrified and looking at the actors, who demonstrated their physical disabilities in order to find a means of living. The income of some of them amounted to quite substantial sums. Freak shows existed until the mid-20th century and were popular with the public. A visit to such a performance was not perceived as something reprehensible, and the organizers became rich by satisfying the idle interest of clients.

Stefan Bibrowski, Lion Man

Unfortunately, this disease has no cure. His hair continued to grow, and Stefan's appearance frightened those around him. The mother could not come to terms with this, and when her son was 4 years old, she handed him over to the German impresario Meyer. Thus began the circus life of little Stefan, who began to travel around Europe with Meyer.

The impresario made a child for the freak show participants when Stefan's hair became very thick, and his hair reached a length of ten centimeters on his body and twenty on his face. Only the palms and soles remained hairless. In 1901, the Lion Man, as Bibrowski was now called, joined the American circus Barnum & Bailey and worked there for almost twenty years, after which he moved to Germany. When he turned 41, he died. The cause of death was a heart attack.

Felix Werle, the gum man

Isaac Sprague, Living Skeleton

Isaac went to doctors a lot, turned to famous specialists, but to find out the reason for this strong weight loss no one could. Isaac was losing strength despite eating a lot. Since he lived alone with his mother, he had to go to the circus to get money and somehow support his family. He never parted with a flask filled with sweet milk. This helped him not to lose consciousness from powerlessness - periodically he took a couple of sips.

At the same time, he had an excellent appetite. Sprague ate for two, and people watched with delight as the Living Skeleton devoured steaks in a huge number. Despite everything, Isaac subsequently married and even had children - three sons. Over the years of working in the circus, he made a considerable fortune, but he spent it all on drink and gambling.

Isaac died at the age of 46, a beggar. It was written in his will that he would give his body to scientists for experiments, making sure that in the future other people with the same disease could be helped.

Millie and Christina McCoy, Two-Headed Nightingale

After for long years After work, the twins purchased a small farm, where they settled to live out the rest of their days in peace. When they reached the age of 61, Millie contracted tuberculosis and died. Christina followed her literally a few hours later. The two-headed nightingale McCoy is shining example Siamese twins who lived such a long life.

Susie, the elephant skin girl

The girl decided to benefit from her fortune. She began touring Europe, and in 1927 she moved to the United States of America and became an actress in the Dreamland Circus Sideshow. There she was given the pseudonym “Girl with Elephant Skin.”

She entered the arena in a bikini, or wrapped in light fabric, amazing the audience with her unusual appearance. Since 1933, Susie began working at the exhibition-fair in Chicago Ripley's Believe it or Not?!, where she enjoyed extraordinary popularity. A crowd of spectators came to look at the elephant girl. Susie was tired, and the moment came when she could no longer stand increased attention to your person.

The girl went to New York, where she found a less tiring activity. Together with an elephant named Lou, she performed in the circus, devoting no more than an hour a day to work.

This woman lived a long life interesting life. Charlotte dreamed of having her own show, and she opened it in the sixties. The Girl with the Elephant Skin died in New York at the age of 67.

Continuing the theme, the story of the Hensel sisters -.

Circus performers have always attracted attention, especially at the time when the freak circus appeared, which became a source of entertainment for most people. Legendary American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum united and turned the so-called "freaks" into one of the most famous attractions. The performers of this circus were unfortunate victims of a cruel world that refused to accept them and recognize them as “normal.”

1. Francesco Lentini - the man with three legs

Born in Sicily in 1889, Francesco Lentini was widely known as the "King of Freaks". Francesco was born with a third leg (and reportedly fully functioning genitals). Lentini's condition was the result of a partially formed twin that failed to separate properly from his body. The parents abandoned their son. He first lived with his aunt, and then she gave him to a shelter for disabled children. Francesco was ashamed of himself at first, but then he realized that there were other unusual children in the world. At the age of 8, he immigrated to the United States, where he became a respected circus performer.

2. Stefan Bibrovsky - "The Lion Man"

Born in 1891 in modern Poland, Stefan Bibrovsky was an ordinary boy, except for one thing amazing fact: He suffered from hypertrichosis, a disorder that caused hair to grow all over his body and face. His mother was convinced that the child was cursed. One day she witnessed how her husband, Stefan's father, was attacked by a lion. Thinking that her son would become inhuman, Stefan's mother gave him to a German artist. It turns out that Stefan wasn't a "monster" at all. He was kind, gentle and smart person who spoke five languages. He spent part of his speeches simply talking to his audience. Stefan was so successful circus artist that he was able to retire at age 30 and return to Europe. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack at the age of 41.

3. Isaac Sprague - "Living Skeleton"

Isaac Sprague was a completely normal boy until the age of 12, when he began to suffer from a mysterious illness. He lost weight at an incredible rate until he finally muscle mass didn't evaporate at all. In his adult years, he weighed no more than 43 pounds (about 19 kg). This condition left him unable to perform regular work, so to pay the bills, Isaac began performing in the circus. Sprague spent most your career, working with famous showman P.T. Barnum, toured with him, and also performed at the museum. Isaac died at the age of 46.

4. Ella Harper - "Camel Girl"

Ella Harper was born with an unusual orthopedic condition called patella recurvatum, which allowed her to bend her knees completely backwards. She preferred to walk on all fours. Ella became a star in the 1880s big show Harris" Nickel Plate, where she received the nickname "Camel Girl". Newspapers advertised Ella, but she herself was modest and not very interested in fame. After some time, she left the stage, got married and started new life in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1921 she died of cancer.

5. Chang and Eng Banker - conjoined Siamese twins

Chang and Eng Banker are perhaps the most famous artists circus in history. The brothers were born joined at the chest in Siam (now Thailand). At the time, doctors didn't know how to safely separate twins. When they were young, a famous showman convinced their parents to send them on a world tour, which brought them fame and fortune. After the contract ended, Chang and Eng bought a large plantation in North Carolina. Chang and Eng, determined to live normal life, married local women, also sisters. In total, they had 21 children.

6. Schlitzi Surtees

Schlitzy Surtees rose to fame when he starred in Todd Browning's 1932 classic Freaks. Schlitzi was born with microcephaly, a developmental disorder that caused him to have a very small brain and skull, and was himself vertically challenged. Due to illness, he was unable to do normal work and could only speak short words or phrases. He was sometimes dressed as a woman in dresses because he was incontinent and wore diapers. Although this assumption never became reliable. In 1965, Schlitzie was assigned to the Los Angeles County Hospital. But he felt bad there and was able to return to his normal life. He died in 1971.

7. Joseph Merrick - "The Elephant Man"

Joseph Merrick's life changed the public's view of physical disability. Merrick was born in Leicester. His strange condition, which medical science is still unable to fully explain, began in the first few years of his life, causing deformities in his face and body. When Joseph was 11 years old, his mother died of bronchopneumonia, and his father and new stepmother abused him. Unable to do a regular job, Merrick contacted a showman named Sam Torr and agreed to perform as "The Elephant Man." While in London he was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who took him in and became his benefactor. Treves visited him daily and they developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also visited wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society. Joseph Merrick died on April 11, 1890, aged 27.

8. Prince Randian - "Snake Man", "Living Torso", "Caterpillar Man"

Prince Randian was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a disorder that causes a person to be born without limbs. According to legend, it was brought by P.T. himself. Barnum to America at the age of 18. Randian became famous after playing the "snake man" (he wore a one-piece outfit and crawled around the stage). He could write with his mouth, roll cigarettes and shave. Randian was very capable without limbs. In fact, he made all of his circus props and acts himself. He was very smart and could speak many languages.

9. James Morris - "Rubber Man"

James Morris was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disorder that allowed him to stretch his skin to incredible lengths. Morris took advantage of his condition and began performing in the circus as the “Rubber Man.” Morris's skin was so elastic that he could take the skin from his neck and pull it over his eyes. Naturally this affected his health. Stretching the skin soon became incredibly painful, and welts and scars began to appear. James Morris was forced to leave the circus. He opened his own barbershop.

10. Grady Stiles - "The Crab Man"

Grady Stiles was a circus performer who became famous for his deformed arms and legs. Styles suffered from a condition known as ectrodactyly, which caused him to have claws instead of arms and legs. This disorder is inherited. Styles' father was also a circus performer. Two of Styles' four children suffered from ectrodactyly. Soon Styles started drinking a lot. In 1978 year Styles killed his fiance eldest daughter on the eve of their wedding. He was convicted of third degree murder and sentenced to fifteen years probation. His first wife, Maria Teresa, paid one of the circus workers to kill Grady. As it turned out, no one loved Grady and all his friends and acquaintances refused to carry his coffin.

11. Charles Sherwood Stratton - "General Tom-Tom"

Charles Sherwood Stratton was a little man who mysteriously stopped growing once he was six months old. Stratton's growth throughout early childhood was about 63 cm, although later he grew a little more and reached 99 cm. Charles began performing in the P.T. Circus. Barnum since age 5. Stratton sang, danced, joked and even imitated celebrities. He became an international celebrity as he toured Europe and met Queen Victoria, President Abraham Lincoln and King Edward VII. In 1863, Stratton married Lavinia Warren (who was also short). He died at the age of 45.

12. Annie Jones - American bearded woman

Annie Jones began touring with the circus at the age of 9 months. Her mother signed a three-year contract with showman P.T. Barnum. By the age of five, Annie had sideburns and a mustache and became the famous "bearded girl." Annie Jones was also famous for her musical abilities. She was married twice. In 1902, Annie died of tuberculosis.