Chang and Eng Bunker
Conjoined twins from Siam whose lives as international curiosities challenged 19th-century ideas of autonomy, family, and normalcy.
1811–1874 (age 63)·Thai-American conjoined twins·Birthday: May 11
Biography
Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Siam (now Thailand), connected at the sternum by a band of cartilage and fused liver. In 1829, a British merchant brought them to the West, where they were exhibited as 'The Siamese Twins,' a term that entered the language. After years of touring, they shrewdly took control of their own finances and, in a stunning act of self-determination, settled in rural North Carolina, became naturalized citizens, and adopted the surname Bunker. They married two sisters, Adelaide and Sarah Yates, and between them fathered 21 children. Their lives became a complex negotiation of shared and separate existences, farming and occasionally returning to exhibition to support their large families, forever living at the intersection of spectacle and ordinary human aspiration.
#1 When Chang Was Born
The biggest hits of 1811
Chang's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1811Born
1816Started school
1824Became a teenager
1827Could drive
1829Could vote
1832Turned 21
1841Turned 30
1851Turned 40
1861Turned 50
President: Abraham Lincoln
1871Turned 60
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1874Died at 63
President: Ulysses S. Grant
Key Achievements
- Gained international fame in the 19th century, making the term 'Siamese twins' the common descriptor for conjoined twins.
- Successfully transitioned from being managed exhibits to independent businessmen and landowners in the United States.
- Fathered a total of 21 children with their two wives, creating a vast American lineage.
Did You Know?
They initially disliked their shared surname 'Bunker' but adopted it after a ship's captain referred to them as such.
They could get angry with each other and would sometimes refuse to speak for days, requiring their wives to mediate.
During the American Civil War, they sent a son to fight for the Confederacy to protect their property, though they personally opposed secession.
“We are two distinct persons, united by a ligament.”
