April 11, 1862: Born, Joseph Merrick. Better known as "The Elephant Man", Merrick was born with severe deformities and spent most of his life on exhibition as a curiosity. His sad life came to an end in 1890, when he died, officially of asphyxia. An autopsy revealed that his neck was broken. It is believed that Merrick, who normally slept sitting up because of the great weight of his head, had attempted to sleep lying down, to "be like other people."
