1. Sir Jeffrey Hudson
The son of the famous butcher Jeffrey Hudson was introduced to the court of King Charles I of England at the age of eight or nine. At that time, the boy's height was only 37 centimeters.
Hudson was introduced in a very unusual way - during a dinner party hosted by the Duke of Birmingham for the king and queen, the dwarf was served to Charles 1's table … inside a pie. Quickly enough, Hudson became the favorite of Queen Henrietta Maria of France, who trusted him with the most personal assignments. The Queen even sent Hudson to France for a midwife before giving birth.
The dwarf became famous for two duels. In one of the cases it was a battle with a turkey who "insulted him by stealing dinner." The bird was a good half dozen kilograms heavier than Hudson, and also significantly taller than him.
Hudson's second duel was with a doorman named Crofts, who constantly mocked the dwarf. Crofts contemptuously turned up to duel with an enema instead of a pistol to further humiliate Hudson, but he shot him. The incident led to a scandal (duels were prohibited), and Hudson was removed from the royal court.
2. Charles Proteus Steinmetz
Known as the "Schenectady sorcerer," Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a brilliant electrical engineer who was friends with Einstein, Edison, and Tesla. Despite the fact that already at the University of Breslau he was known as a child prodigy, Steinmetz was forced to flee Germany due to the fact that an investigation was launched into his involvement in a socialist newspaper. When Steinmetz tried to immigrate to the United States, he was initially denied entry due to his dwarfism, but friends from America convinced the Immigration Bureau of Steinetz's genius. His mathematically proven "law of hysteresis" (or Steinmetz's law), as well as work in the field of alternating current helped to revolutionize electrical engineering.
3. Ancient Egyptian dwarfs
The dwarfs were highly regarded in ancient Egypt, and they also regularly received high positions at the courts of the pharaohs. The short people were often goldsmiths, trainers, fishermen, entertainers, dancers, and healers. Some of them even got into high society.
Some ancient Egyptian gods, such as Ptah, the creator of the universe, and Bes, the god of love, sexuality and procreation, were also often depicted as dwarfs. The most famous dwarf of the Egyptian elite was Seneb, who was the head of the weaving workshops at the palace of Pharaoh Pepi II of the 6th Dynasty. Seneb was married to a royal relative Sennettefes, from whom he had a son and two daughters. He also acted as the funeral priest of Pharaoh Khufu and Pharaoh Jedefra.
4. Bushwick Bill.
Born in Jamaica in 1984, rapper Bushwick Bill was a member of the acclaimed Houston rap group Geto Boys, which created a highly controversial form of "southern rap" whose lyrics were full of paranoia and violence. In his career there were many crazy and shocking stories, but the most famous was the case of a gunshot wound.
In a state of insanity after a large dose of alcohol and drugs, Bushwick paid a visit to his girlfriend and asked her to shoot him in the face. A scandal ensued between them, after which Bushwick began to threaten the girl's child, after which she shot the rapper in the eye. The cardic rapper survived, but never gave up drugs.
5. Vesalius
Thanks to the Flemish anatomist Vesalius, who was born in the 16th century, people learned a lot about the human body. Vesalius studied medicine in Paris and Padua. After Vesalius received his doctorate in 1537, he was immediately invited to the post of professor of surgery and anatomy at the University of Padua. At that time, surgery and anatomy were considered less important branches of medicine, but Vesalius believed in the importance of anatomy and illegally (this was forbidden by the church) performed autopsies to make anatomical diagrams of the circulation and nervous system. Today Vesalius is considered the founder of anatomy.
6. Francois de Cuvilliers
François de Cuvillier at the age of 11 became a court dwarf at the court of the Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II Emanuel. It seemed that he had no future, but the elector saw in the boy a talent for science and sent him to Paris to study mathematics, engineering and architecture. Under the tutelage of the famous architect François Blondel the Younger, Cuvillier studied the emerging French Rococo style. After Cuvillier returned to Munich, he was soon appointed chief architect of Bavaria. His most famous works are the Falkenlust hunting castle, the decoration of the halls of the Munich residence, the Holnstein palace, the Amalienburg palace, the Wilhelmsthal palace in Kassiel, the Cuvillier theater and the facade of the Theatinerkirche church.
7. Tamara De Tro
The actress, who began her career as the second vocalist in a group called Medflys in 1980, has subsequently performed in theaters and comedy clubs throughout San Francisco. There Tamara De Tro was spotted by Steven Spielberg, who hired her to play the role of an alien in the film of the same name. Spielberg warned Tamara to keep quiet about the special effects in Alien, but she publicly stated that she played an extraterrestrial being in scenes requiring movement, and the mechanical version of the alien was only used for close-ups. Tamara also appeared in the films Goblins and Rockula. The actress died at the age of 31 due to lung and heart problems.
8. General Tom - There
In 1842, the showman Barnum drew attention to a unique boy living in the city of Bridgeport. The growth of Charles Sherwood Stratton at the age of four was only 63 centimeters, and his weight was 7 kg. Charles's father agreed that Barnum would hire his son for $ 3 a month (plus room and board) to appear in his museum's traveling exhibitions and shows. It was Barnum who taught Charles to sing, dance, and act pantomimes. Soon "General Tom-Tam", as he was soon called, became famous for his wit and performances in military uniform. Stratton, thanks to his performances at Barnum's circus, became a wealthy man and soon went on a tour of Europe, where he was even invited to Buckingham Palace. His performances as Napoleon Bonaparte found tremendous success in England and France. Stratton made his last tour of England in 1878, and in 1883 he died of a stroke.
9. Don Santiago de Los Santos
The most famous Filipino in 19th century Britain was a dwarf. He almost died very much in infancy because of his tiny size, but he was miraculously saved by the Viceroy of the Philippines, who picked up the baby on the street and raised him with his children. After the death of the governor, this man, known as Don Santiago de los Santos, decided to stay in Manila, rather than go back to Spain with the governor's children. His old family, however, rejected the dwarf youth, after which he decided to go to Madras. There he found a captain who was ready to take him with him to England.
On the way, Santiago was washed overboard and while he was pulled out, he almost froze to death in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. After reaching England, De Los Santos made a name for himself in England by performing on stage with a 19-year-old girl 213 centimeters tall. Soon de Los Santos married a young woman from Birmingham named Ann Hopkins, whose height was 97 centimeters (while his height was 66 centimeters). The wedding became sensational. Not only were the couple dwarfs, but Santos was also an ardent Catholic, and Hopkins was a Protestant.
10. Marshall Pinkney Wilder
Marshall Pinckney Wilder was born in New York State and was considered an outstanding personality from an early age. As a child, he often played ball with friends in a local park, from where they were constantly kicked out by the police. Marshall, despite his young age, went to the mayor, who obtained permission to play in the park. At the age of 12, he became popular for his performances in a puppet show. Growing up, Marshall moved to New York and at first worked as a stenographer, but then decided to connect his career with the stage, where he performed with humorous monologues. In 1883, Wilder traveled to London, where he became the darling of the British royal family. While still Prince of Wales, King Edward VII became a fan of Wilder and personally attended his performances over the years. In 1904, Wilder went on a trip around the world. Although Wilder is barely remembered today, 100 years ago he was considered a master at conveying emotion on stage.
