Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. Merrick began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life.

When he was 11, his mother died and his father rejected him. In 1884, he started to be exhibit as the Elefant Man. In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels but he eventually made his way back to London. Merrick was allowed to stay at the London Hospital for the remainder of his life and he received visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society.