Tom Norman

Common card · No. 438059

Tom Norman, born Thomas Noakes (7 May 1860 – 24 August 1930), was an English businessman, a showman, and the last exhibitor of Joseph Merrick, who was known as the "Elephant Man". Among Norman's later exhibits were a troupe of little people, a "Man in a Trance", "John Chambers, the armless Carpenter", and the "World's Ugliest Woman". Norman started his working life as a butcher in Sussex before moving to London at the age of 14, where he sought a career on the music hall stage. There, he became interested in freak shows which he attended in his spare time. After viewing an exhibition called "Electric Lady" next door to his place of work, he went into business with the exhibition's manager and began his career as a showman of human oddities. He quickly became successful, for his patter as much as his exhibits, and was called the 'Silver King' by the American showman P. T. Barnum. In 1884, Norman took over the management of Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the "Elephant Man", and exhibited...

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