General Tom finger-boy: the story of one of the most famous dwarfs of all time
'27.01.2021'
Source: Эхо Москвы
General Tom-Tam, or, as he was also called, General Tom Thumb-Boy, was one of the most famous dwarfs of all time. His circus performances conquered America, and Queen Victoria herself fell in love with the performance in a Napoleon costume. His wedding turned into a real show, and ten thousand people gathered at his funeral, says Эхо Москвы.
Swindle King
The future star of American and European circuses was opened by American Phineas Barnum. The motto of this showman, who opened a circus named after himself, was the phrase "Every minute a goof is born." In honor of Barnum, one of the effects in psychology was even named. It was discovered on the basis of Forer's experiment, which describes how people believe in astrological forecasts, palmistry and other descriptions of personality, supposedly created individually for them. In fact, such texts are only generalized enough to suit most people.
In 1842, Barnum discovered the tiny son of a carpenter in Connecticut. The parents of a boy named Charles Stratton were of average average height, and the child himself was quite large when he was born. By six months he was 64 centimeters tall and suddenly stopped growing. As a teenager, he stretched a few more inches, and by the age of 18 he had reached 89 centimeters. Since then, the boy did not grow up anymore. Barnum took the child from confused parents as a four-year-old.
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He offered the family of the carpenter $ 3 a week for a month, which was supposed to be a probationary period. In addition, the owner of the circus promised to cover all the costs of maintaining the boy. At that time, for poor people it was a lot of money, as the Strattons agreed to give the child.
General boy-with-finger
In New York, Barnum transformed a boy into General Tom Thumbnail Boy, who supposedly had recently arrived from Europe. He taught the kid to sing, dance, and all court manners. At the age of five, “General” Tom toured Europe, appearing in front of an astonished audience in the form of Hercules, then in the costume of Napoleon Bonaparte. Together with the midget, the Siamese twins Bunkers, the Indian dancer Doo-Ham-Mi, and the body of an allegedly real mermaid from the Fiji Islands were shown at the Barnum circus. The performances made a splash.
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A year later, Barnum went with his circus to Europe. British audiences were delighted with the midget dressed in a luxurious military uniform. Those who did not see General Tom's speeches were considered hopelessly behind the fashion. Tickets for the performances were sold out, and the fees were up to five hundred dollars a day. Barnum himself even received an invitation to Queen Victoria.
Rich kid
Soon, the young favorite of the public made a decent fortune, started his own team of tailors who customized fashionable suits to his height, bought a mansion in one of the best areas of New York and even acquired a steamer. True, General Tom Barnum's "guardian" nearly went bankrupt in 1855. To help him pay off creditors, the midget made another tour and collected the missing amount. During his next trip to Europe, he again looked at the light to the British queen.
Small wedding
In 1863, General Tom married the dwarf Lavinia Warren, who also performed at the Barnum Circus. The entrepreneur made a real show from the wedding of the midgets. Within a few weeks, he displayed a bridesmaid dress, made in the fashion of the time, in a shop window on Fifth Avenue. The satin outfit, decorated with silk and pearls, made a splash.
Hundreds of people watched General Tom's wedding. At the solemn feast, the newlyweds received gifts and congratulations, proudly standing on the lid of the piano. A few days later they were invited to the reception by Abraham Lincoln himself. Then the newly-made family went on a honeymoon trip.
Fake kid
Barnum hoped very much that General Tom would have a child who could be shown to the public for a lot of money. But Lavinia was never able to get pregnant. Then the circus owner simply found a baby for the couple, whom they began to pass off as their own. This increased the interest of the public, and the “general with the general” happily played the happy parents.
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True, soon the child became almost more than the couple themselves, which, of course, caused questions from the audience. Barnum decided that from then on during the tour he would "rent" local babies for the Lilliputians.
In 1881 the couple embarked on their last tour. By that time, they were both already over forty. General Tom was 70 centimeters tall. Soon, his wife Lavinia went on a solo tour. In 1883, General Tom died of a stroke at his mansion in Middleborough. Almost ten thousand people gathered to mourn the famous midget.
