Joseph Merrick was a severely deformed man in the 19th century.
Joseph Carey Merrick ( 5 August 1862 -- 11 April 1890 ; often incorrectly called John Merrick ) was an English man with very severe deformities who was first exhibited at a freak show as the `` Elephant Man '' , and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Frederick Treves , so becoming well known in London society . Merrick was born in Leicester , and began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life : his skin appeared thick and lumpy , he developed enlarged lips , and a bony lump grew on his forehead , one of his arms and both of his feet became enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his hip , resulting in permanent lameness . Although the official cause of his death was asphyxia , Treves , who performed the autopsy on the body , said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck . Joseph Merrick ( August 1808 -- 22 October 1849 ) was a Jamaican Baptist missionary who , assisted by Joseph Jackson Fuller , established the first successful mission on the Cameroon coast of Africa .