Biography

Phineas T. Barnum discovered him, named him "General Tom Thumb" and made him a success, in 1842. When Charles Stratton was born, he was a large baby, weighing a little over nine pounds. He developed normally for a while, reaching 15 pounds and two feet, one inch in length by five months of age, then his growth stopped. By age five he had not grown an inch more, but otherwise he was a completely normal child. His 1863 wedding to Lavinia Warren was the most celebrated marriage of its time, and was performed in front of two thousand guests (even President and Mrs. Lincoln sent gifts).