Joseph Merrick was the inspiration of the play The Elephant Woman.
 Montagu believed Treves's statement in his book, The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences, referring to Merrick's first name as John, not Joseph, was due to confusing him with his supposed younger brother, who was later discovered to be of no relation to Joseph Merrick
 In 1980, a film The Elephant Man, directed by David Lynch, was released; it received eight Academy Award nominations

