1862 - 1890
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name, "the Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Sir Frederick Treves, subsequently becoming well known in London society. Merrick was born in Leicester and began to develop abnormally before the age of five. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Joseph Merrick has received more than 6,377,117 page views. His biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). Joseph Merrick is the 10th most popular celebrity (up from 11th in 2019), the 303rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 287th in 2019) and the most popular British Celebrity.
Joseph Merrick, also known as "The Elephant Man," was born in 1862 and died in 1890. He was born with a rare genetic condition called Proteus Syndrome. This condition caused him to have a severely deformed body and a large, lumpy head. He was exhibited as a human curiosity in freak shows across England and Europe.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
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Among celebrities, Joseph Merrick ranks 10 out of 184. Before him are Jeanne Calment, Kaspar Hauser, Robert Wadlow, Lisa del Giocondo, Buffalo Bill, and Lina Medina. After him are Simonetta Vespucci, Black Dahlia, Millvina Dean, Anna Anderson, Empress Michiko, and Mary Mallon.
1875 - 1997
HPI: 79.66
Rank: 4
1812 - 1833
HPI: 78.99
Rank: 5
1918 - 1940
HPI: 78.88
Rank: 6
1479 - 1542
HPI: 78.10
Rank: 7
1846 - 1917
HPI: 77.29
Rank: 8
1933 - Present
HPI: 77.16
Rank: 9
1862 - 1890
HPI: 75.57
Rank: 10
1453 - 1476
HPI: 75.11
Rank: 11
1924 - 1947
HPI: 75.07
Rank: 12
1912 - 2009
HPI: 74.85
Rank: 13
1896 - 1984
HPI: 74.48
Rank: 14
1934 - Present
HPI: 73.77
Rank: 15
1869 - 1938
HPI: 73.71
Rank: 16
Among people born in 1862, Joseph Merrick ranks 10. Before him are David Hilbert, Philipp Lenard, O. Henry, Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and Aristide Briand. After him are William Henry Bragg, Allvar Gullstrand, Hilma af Klint, J. Bruce Ismay, Pyotr Stolypin, and Victoria of Baden. Among people deceased in 1890, Joseph Merrick ranks 8. Before him are Heinrich Schliemann, Carlo Collodi, Sitting Bull, César Franck, William III of the Netherlands, and Amadeo I of Spain. After him are Henri Nestlé, Gyula Andrássy, Duchess Helene in Bavaria, Richard Francis Burton, Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and John Henry Newman.
1862 - 1943
HPI: 81.54
Rank: 4
1862 - 1947
HPI: 79.12
Rank: 5
1862 - 1910
HPI: 77.19
Rank: 6
1862 - 1946
HPI: 76.88
Rank: 7
1862 - 1931
HPI: 76.43
Rank: 8
1862 - 1932
HPI: 75.83
Rank: 9
1862 - 1890
HPI: 75.57
Rank: 10
1862 - 1942
HPI: 75.19
Rank: 11
1862 - 1930
HPI: 74.57
Rank: 12
1862 - 1944
HPI: 74.24
Rank: 13
1862 - 1937
HPI: 73.87
Rank: 14
1862 - 1911
HPI: 73.65
Rank: 15
1862 - 1930
HPI: 73.40
Rank: 16
1822 - 1890
HPI: 82.29
Rank: 2
1826 - 1890
HPI: 81.14
Rank: 3
1831 - 1890
HPI: 80.95
Rank: 4
1822 - 1890
HPI: 77.07
Rank: 5
1817 - 1890
HPI: 76.91
Rank: 6
1845 - 1890
HPI: 76.17
Rank: 7
1862 - 1890
HPI: 75.57
Rank: 8
1814 - 1890
HPI: 74.81
Rank: 9
1823 - 1890
HPI: 74.69
Rank: 10
1834 - 1890
HPI: 74.46
Rank: 11
1821 - 1890
HPI: 72.50
Rank: 12
1811 - 1890
HPI: 72.32
Rank: 13
1801 - 1890
HPI: 71.78
Rank: 14
Among people born in United Kingdom, Joseph Merrick ranks 303 out of 6,924. Before him are Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (1947), Oswald Mosley (1896), Jane Goodall (1934), Richard Trevithick (1771), Jacqueline Bisset (1944), and Syd Barrett (1946). After him are Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901), G. H. Hardy (1877), Patrick Stewart (1940), Jeremy Irons (1948), Eadweard Muybridge (1830), and Ken Miles (1918).
1947 - Present
HPI: 75.77
Rank: 297
1896 - 1980
HPI: 75.70
Rank: 298
1934 - Present
HPI: 75.70
Rank: 299
1771 - 1833
HPI: 75.67
Rank: 300
1944 - Present
HPI: 75.62
Rank: 301
1946 - 2006
HPI: 75.61
Rank: 302
1862 - 1890
HPI: 75.57
Rank: 303
1901 - 2004
HPI: 75.55
Rank: 304
1877 - 1947
HPI: 75.51
Rank: 305
1940 - Present
HPI: 75.51
Rank: 306
1948 - Present
HPI: 75.49
Rank: 307
1830 - 1904
HPI: 75.41
Rank: 308
1918 - 1966
HPI: 75.41
Rank: 309
Among celebrities born in United Kingdom, Joseph Merrick ranks 1. After him are Millvina Dean (1912), Mary Mallon (1869), Mary Anning (1799), Albert Pierrepoint (1905), Christine Keeler (1942), Daisy and Violet Hilton (null), Jane Morris (1839), and Louise Brown (1978).
1862 - 1890
HPI: 75.57
Rank: 1
1912 - 2009
HPI: 74.85
Rank: 2
1869 - 1938
HPI: 73.71
Rank: 3
1799 - 1847
HPI: 69.79
Rank: 4
1905 - 1992
HPI: 68.11
Rank: 5
1942 - 2017
HPI: 66.40
Rank: 6
HPI: 66.21
Rank: 7
1839 - 1914
HPI: 60.85
Rank: 8
1978 - Present
HPI: 55.54
Rank: 9