FYI logo

The Story of Conjoined Twins Chang & Eng

How they were able to prosper because of their condition

By Kassondra O'HaraPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
Like
The Story of Conjoined Twins Chang & Eng
Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash

Chang and Eng Bunker were sons born to Nok and Ti-eye in Meklong, Siam (now Thailand) in 1811. Their father was born in China and worked as a fisherman, while their mother raised them and their seven other siblings. They were just normal boys who played with their brothers and sisters along the riverbank, swam, and steered their father’s boat; except that they were stuck together. They were what we know now as conjoined twins.

What Are Conjoined Twins?

In modern times, we refer to persons being born with this condition as conjoined twins. This means that the two siblings are connected to each other. It occurs when the embryo that separates in utero to form identical twins does not completely separate. Conjoined twins can be connected at the head, chest, abdomen, spine, pelvis, or anywhere the splitting process decides to stop.

Unfortunately, many conjoined twins are stillborn or die shortly after birth, especially before modern medicine. Thankfully, advances in medical technology and surgical techniques have greatly improved the odds of conjoined twins’ survival and have even allowed for some to be surgically separated.

The Early Lives of the “Siamese Twins”

Chang and Eng were the first pair of conjoined twins to be well documented through medical records. The original name “Siamese twins” even derived from them, as they were from Siam.

Chang and Eng were joined at the waist by a 3.25-inch tubular band of tissue. As babies, the tissue caused them to be face-to-face. As they grew older, their mother insisted that they regularly exercised, which cause the tissue to stretch, allowing them to walk side by side. The only organ that the two shared was the liver. Other than that, each brother had their own complete set of organs.

After their father died of cholera when they were eight years old, the boys began working in cocoa bean oil manufacturing to help support their family. As they grew older, they began traveling as merchants and raised ducks to sell their eggs.

Chang and Eng’s life changed in 1824 when they met Robert Hunter, a British merchant. Hunter immediately recognized the fortune that could be gained by putting the twins on exhibition. He received permission from the twins, the twins’ mother, and the King of Siam to take the boys out of Siam and to the United States. In April 1829, the twins boarded a trading vessel and began their 138-day journey to Boston, Massachusetts. While on the way, they started to learn English.

Exhibition

When Chang and Eng arrived in Boston, they immediately began being put on exhibit to the public. The patrons paid a small fee to witness the unusual siblings and the twins received a percentage of the profit. The twins demonstrated how they were physically connected, and eventually added summersaults, backflips, and acrobatic skits to their performance. They also included badminton, chess, and checkers in their show.

A Medical Marvel

While in Boston, the twins caught the attention of Joseph Skey. Skey was a doctor of the British Army who was staying in Boston. He conducted experiments on Chang & Eng (with their permission of course) and examined their motor reflexes and physiology. Skey observed and documented that he would enter the twins’ room at night and when he touched one of them, both would wake up.

Chang and Eng were also examined by John Warren, a professor of anatomy and surgery at Harvard Medical School. He observed that the twins’ heartbeat and breathing were synchronized, they moved in harmony, but that they still had their own individual personalities and character traits.

Chang and Eng traveled to Europe, where they expanded their exhibitions. Here, they were examined by even more doctors who concluded that not only did they not experience any pain when the tissue that conjoined them was stretched, but also that each twin’s organs functioned separately.

The Twins Settle Down

After a life in the public eye, in 1839 Chang and Eng decided to buy a farm in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. They purchased slaves to help them manage the farm, which was commonplace at the time. After a time, they met the Yates sisters, whose family were also farmers. Chang and Eng began courting Adelaide and Sarah, and on April 13, 1843 the two brothers married the two sisters.

In the beginning, the brothers and their wives lived in the same house and slept on a reinforced bed built for four. After they began having children (yes, they could have children and apparently very easily), it was obvious that they would have to live in separate houses. The wives and their children would live in their own homes and Chang and Eng would rotate residences every three days.

It is reported that Chang and Adelaide had ten children, while Eng and Sarah had twelve children. None of the children born to the brothers were conjoined twins. They still traveled to exhibitions occasionally, and often took their families along.

An Era of Change

In 1862, the American Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery. Without their slaves, the brothers were no longer able to operate their farm, which meant they had to find another source of income. They began doing more exhibitions that included traveling internationally.

During their travels, they consulted with doctors about the possibilities of surgical separation. After all, they were almost 60 years old and began to fear what would happen to the other if one of them should die. Chang and Eng were continued to be told that if surgery was done to separate them, then it would surely be fatal.

The End

On January 17, 1874 Chang Bunker died from a cerebral blood clot. His brother Eng died only three hours later. After their deaths, Professor Harrison Allen performed their autopsy. He examined and documented the length, angle, and materials of the connective tissue that attached the two brothers.

Following the autopsy, a plaster cast was made of the twins’ conjoined torso. It continues to display this amazing phenomenon of the human body and the brothers who not only lived productive lives despite it but thrived because of it.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chang-and-Eng

https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/chang-and-eng-bunker-1811-1874

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/bunker-eng-and-chang

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2825888/How-original-Siamese-twins-21-children-two-sisters-sharing-one-reinforced-bed.html

***Note: Story was previously published on Medium.com by the author***

Historical
Like

About the Creator

Kassondra O'Hara

Working mom who uses her curiosity to fuel the curiosities of others ~ Writes mostly history and true crime

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.