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Chang and Eng Bunker, famously known as the original "Siamese Twins," shared an extraordinary and eventful life. Their story ended in an ironic tragedy that even the greatest playwrights, like Shakespeare, would find hard to imagine. The conjoined twins were not just a fascinating curiosity, but also achieved fame as world-class acrobats, enjoyed prosperous business success, and were once regarded as the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
After their arrival in Boston in 1829, the unique and captivating pair began performing for large audiences across the United States and later in Europe. They graced carnivals, freak shows, and circuses, sharing the stage with other extraordinary performers, such as "Zip—The Man Monkey" and "The Amazing Wolf Children of Australia." Despite widespread skepticism about their authenticity, Chang and Eng were undeniably conjoined below their breastbones by a small 13 cm (5 in) long appendage, made of ligaments and cartilage, measuring 5 cm (2 in) in width.
10. Myth: Chang and Eng Were Siamese
A common misconception about Chang and Eng is that they were Siamese, despite their birth in Thailand (then Siam). The twins were born on May 11, 1811, in a floating house by a riverside in a quaint fishing village about 70 kilometers (44 miles) southwest of Bangkok. Recent studies reveal that Chang and Eng were not Siamese after all. Their mother, 35 years old at the time of their birth, was of mixed Chinese and Malayan descent, while their father was fully Chinese. As a result, the twins were more Chinese than anything else.
At the moment of their birth, the two midwives, deeply entrenched in superstition, recoiled in clear fear and shock at what they saw. A large mass of flesh connected the two baby boys. The twins arrived with their umbilical cord tangled around them, but their mother managed to untwist it, likely saving their lives in the process. She then positioned them so they could gaze into each other's eyes, with Chang on the left and Eng on the right. Chang was always slightly shorter than Eng, and his back arched a little away from his brother.
9. Chang and Eng Were the First Siamese Twins
During Chang and Eng’s era, superstition was widespread, and conjoined twins were often viewed as a manifestation of “the Devil’s work.” It's important to remember that medical knowledge was severely limited around the world at that time. Due to this lack of understanding, the Bunker twins faced significant challenges from birth. Their situation worsened further when a cholera outbreak claimed the lives of five of their siblings and their father. As a result, the twins were left to bear the sole responsibility of supporting their family, but their family’s preserved duck egg business was insufficient to meet their needs.
This ultimately led to 1829, when the twins, at 17 years old, found themselves aboard a ship bound for Boston. With the aid of a translator, they quickly learned bits of English and were reportedly able to climb the ship's mast as swiftly as any of the crew. Upon arriving in Boston, they were advertised as the "Siamese Double Boys" and gained immediate popularity. It wasn’t long before the iconic title of "The Siamese Twins" was coined, and they became internationally recognized. Over time, the term "Siamese twins" came to be used to describe all conjoined twins.
8. They Triumphed Despite Prejudice and Terrible Challenges
Though once hailed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” for their incredible acrobatics and showmanship, Chang and Eng endured harsh persecution in their homeland. As conjoined twins of mixed heritage, they were often taunted and bullied throughout their childhood. However, the most damaging event came when they were wrongfully blamed for a cholera epidemic that claimed 30,000 lives, causing the river to be clogged with dead bodies. This led to a song called “Living Curse,” written in Singapore, which chronicled the twins’ harrowing experience of nearly being lynched by an angry mob driven by superstition.
Twice during their careers, the twins were managed by the notorious P.T. Barnum, famous for his saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Surprisingly, they seemed to thrive under his management. At the same time, Herman Melville referred to them as “monsters” and compared them to characters in Moby Dick. Despite these challenges, they continued performing privately for notable figures, including Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the English monarch, Queen Victoria.
7. They Were Initially Seen As A Strange Creature
Chang and Eng's lives might have been ordinary and uneventful were it not for Robert Hunter, a British sea merchant who first saw them as children. Initially, Hunter mistook them for a strange animal crossing a river. However, upon realizing they were twin boys, he quickly saw the opportunity for profit and convinced their parents to allow him to bring them to the United States for display. Despite Hunter’s foresight, it still took five years, $500 from the twins’ mother, and the help of an American sailor to get them out of Siam legally. A ship captain named Abel Coffin played a crucial role in persuading the King of Siam, Rama III, to grant permission for the twins to travel to the US, allegedly with a bribe involving a troupe of dancers and a telescope.
As youngsters, with constant support from their mother, Chang and Eng dedicated themselves to daily exercises, focusing on mastering their coordinated movements. This diligence resulted in the ligament connecting them stretching to 13 centimeters (5 inches) in length. This newfound flexibility allowed them to swim, walk, run, perform acrobatics, and even expertly handle a boat. As was customary at the time, they also learned to bow in perfect unison the 18 times required when introduced to King Rama III. The twins were particularly skilled at walking on their hands, a unique performance that became their signature and a crowd favorite wherever they went. Thanks to their finely honed acrobatic skills, Chang and Eng accumulated wealth before reaching the age of 30.
6. Myth: Chang and Eng Fought in the U.S. Civil War
In 1869, Packard’s Monthly published a comic piece by Mark Twain titled “Personal Habits of the Siamese Twins,” which made some far-fetched claims about the famous brothers. Suggesting he was personally acquainted with Chang and Eng, Twain claimed that the Bunker brothers were fierce rivals during the Civil War. He even wrote that they fought valiantly, with Chang siding with the Confederacy and Eng with the Union. Twain further humorously depicted an incident where the twins captured each other during the Battle of Seven Oaks, and an army court had to determine who had captured whom. Just imagine them in their uniforms, or the sight of the two with muskets, debating who would fire the first shot—or whether they should carry one gun or two.
Chang and Eng likely wouldn’t have fared well on a Civil War battlefield, and Mark Twain probably recognized that. Known for his wit, Twain wasn’t offering a historical account here. What is accurate, though, is that Eng was called up for a local rebel draft at the start of the war, but when Chang refused to join, the Confederate officer had no choice but to release them both, as it wouldn’t make sense to take just one twin. A lesser-known detail is that two of their sons did go on to fight for the Confederate Army.
5. Myth: Chang and Eng Were Slaves
Some have mistakenly believed the Bunker twins were once enslaved by their American business agents, but that claim is entirely false. The truth is, the Bunker twins never depended on P.T. Barnum; it was Barnum who depended on them. Historical research shows that they were always well-compensated for their performances and made a substantial fortune doing so.
Their most significant career blunder was unknowingly purchasing land in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, a decision that led them directly into the heart of Confederate territory. In 1852, rumors spread about Chang and Eng owning slaves, and sensationalist newspapers crafted a completely fabricated tale, painting the twins as monstrous figures. Major East Coast publications published fiery articles accusing the twins of mistreating their slaves and labeling them as 'brutal slave masters.' In response, the twins published a booklet with a fiery rebuttal, including an affidavit signed by 13 respected local residents vouching for their good character and expressing their anger at the false reports.
Although Chang and Eng did own 33 slaves, they treated them with relative kindness. Remarkably, they even taught their slaves how to read and write, an illegal and punishable offense in some Southern states by the end of the Civil War.
4. Myth: A ‘Love Triangle’
A humorous tale once spread claiming that Chang and Eng found themselves trapped in a ‘love triangle’ and were ready to settle the matter through a duel. The story went that they couldn’t decide the proper distance from which to fire at each other. In reality, the situation was far less absurd.
Chang and Eng were drawn to the daughters of David Yates, a neighboring farmer. A romantic dilemma ensued involving the Yates sisters, Sarah and Adelaide. While Chang fell in love with Adelaide, it took Eng five years to develop feelings for Sarah. In the Victorian era, the idea of twins marrying two sisters was entirely acceptable, and in 1843, all four were married in a Baptist ceremony held in the Yates' living room.
News spread from the Bunker plantation that the two couples had ordered a reinforced bed large enough to accommodate all four of them. Naturally, their wedding sparked a national scandal, with many decrying the union as ‘bestial’ and indicative of the perverse morals of the Confederacy. It was even reported that a woman in Kentucky, who gave birth to conjoined twins, attributed her condition to viewing photographs of Chang and Eng at the time of her pregnancy. Despite the backlash, the Bunker twins went on to father 21 children and now have over 1,500 descendants.
3. Myth: Eng Watched Chang Die
On a cold January night in 1874, Eng awoke to find that his brother Chang had passed away sometime during the night. Therefore, the claim that he watched his brother die is false. At the time, they were both 62 years old. Eng’s final act in his last few hours was to reconcile with his brother, now lying cold and lifeless beside him. Chang had suffered a stroke recently, and complications from his alcoholism had further weakened him. According to recent research, the autopsy revealed that the twins shared one liver, making it unlikely that they would have survived a separation surgery later in life. Ironically, it’s said that they could have been separated at birth, if only a surgeon had been available to perform the operation.
Although Eng passed away shortly after his brother in a deeply sorrowful manner, their story didn’t end there and continues to resonate even today. Following the funeral and burial, the twins' bodies were exhumed and sent to the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, where they were dissected and studied. A death mask was made of their remains, and it now resides in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia as a chilling reminder of the original Siamese Twins and their enduring legacy.
2. Their Last Tour In 1866 Was Their Worst
After arriving in the United States, Chang and Eng quickly found financial success, though their lifestyle remained expensive. By 1838, following a demanding seven-year nationwide tour, they decided to take their first break from show business. Wealthy enough to retire and drained from their travels, they had already become legal U.S. citizens and decided to settle in their new country. Taking the surname “Bunker” in honor of a dear friend from Boston, they purchased a plantation in North Carolina and adapted to the rural lifestyle of the antebellum South.
Having built a stable life for themselves and earned an unusually high status in the slave-holding South, Chang and Eng lost everything when the Union army invaded North Carolina during the Civil War. After their farm was destroyed, they were forced to return to the road in 1866 just to make ends meet. By then, however, they were in their fifties, and their popularity had waned. Additionally, Chang’s struggles with alcoholism had taken a toll on their once-sharp humor, and their act reflected this. The 1866 tour turned out to be a financial disaster.
1. Myth: Chang’s Drinking Got Eng Drunk
The twins, though forced to sleep face-to-face, inevitably had to find a way to get along, even though their personalities were distinct. As with most twins, their differences were vast, so they made the decision to purchase two separate houses. They alternated between the two homes, each matching their individual temperaments. Every three days, they would switch, with the family whose house they were staying at being in charge of all decisions, including how the other twin spent their time.
A common myth about the twins is that Chang's drinking would get Eng drunk, leading them into frequent drunken brawls where they'd fight each other. The reality, however, is that Chang's drinking never had any effect on Eng in terms of alcohol; Eng simply disliked his brother's behavior when he drank, which led to many arguments. There is one incident where Chang threatened his brother with a knife, but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and no one was harmed. Aside from that, there is no evidence of either twin ever physically harming the other, regardless of Chang’s drinking habits.
