15 Famous Conjoined Twins in History

15 Famous Conjoined Twins in History

Conjoined twins who are also known as Siamese twins usually refer to twins joined in utero. This type of twinning is a fascinating human malformation that has occurred over the years. Conjoined twinning is a very rare phenomenon that is mostly found in humans with an estimated prevalence of one in 49,000 births to one in 189,000 births.

The incidence of conjoined twins is higher in Southwest Asia as well as in Africa. At birth, approximately half of the conjoined twins are stillborn, and one-third of the incidents die within twenty-four hours after birth. What is surprising is that most surviving conjoined twins are female with the ratio to male being 3:1.

The conjoined twins can be fused together in different parts of the body. There are several conjoined twins in the history of mankind with many surviving to adulthood. The most famous ones were Chang and Eng Bunker who were born in 1811 and Liver in 1874.

Here are the 15 Famous Conjoined Twins in History:

1. Lazarus Colloredo and Joannes Baptista Colloredo

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Lazarus and Joannes were born in 1617 in Genoa, Italy, and were conjoined twins. They were participants in the freak show tours around Europe in the 17^th century. Joannes’ upper body and left leg stuck out of Lazarus.

He was more of a parasitic twin of Lazarus. Joannes could not speak, he kept his eyes closed, and his mouth was open all time. An anatomist from Copenhagen, Thomas Bartholinus name an account that if Joannes’ breast was pushed, his hands, ears, and lips could move.

Lazarus used to Tour around Europe and made visits to Basel, Switzerland, Copenhagen, and Denmark, and arrived in Scotland in 1652 which was a way of making a living. He later visited Charles I of England and made visits to Danzig (the Ottoman Empire), then concluded his tours to Germany and Italy in 1646. Lazarus is claimed to have been courteous and handsome, and sired children of his own without the same condition.

For some of their lives, Lazarus was sentenced to death for killing another man. However, he was not executed because his innocent brother could die in the process. Their dates of death are not recorded but they were last heard of in 1646.

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2. Ilona and Judit Gófitz

Juste Chevillet, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This set of conjoined twins is known as Helen and Judith of Szőny in contemporary publications. They are also known as the Hungarian Sisters who lived from 19^th October 1701 to February 8^th 1723. Helen and Judith were conjoined at the pelvis region (they were pygopagus).

They were subjected to several examinations by doctors. Helen and Judith were also subjected to an exhibition to curious crowds who wanted to see these unique beings across Europe. The Hungarian Sisters decided to retire to a convent in the Presburg Kingdom of Hungary. They spent the rest of their lives here until they died within hours apart.

3. Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker

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Born on 11^th May 1811, Chang and Eng were Siamese-American conjoined twins who helped in bringing the expression “Siamese twins”, which became a synonym for conjoined twins. The two were exhibited more as curiosities. They were also two of the most studied humans in the 18^th century.

Chang and Eng were of Chinese ancestry but were taken to the US in 1829 where they were inspected by physicians. They started touring on the “freak shows” in America and Europe where they gained more popularity. The two brothers gained financial stability and decided to quit touring in 1839 and settled in North Carolina.

In North Carolina, they became American citizens, married sisters, bought slaves, and even fathered 21 children. Their families lived separately and they had three days of stays in each home before alternating. At the age of 62, Chang died first then Eng died hours later. During their autopsy, it was discovered that the twins’ livers had been fused in the ligament that connected their sternums.

4. Millie and Christine McKoy

John H. Fitzgibbon, St. Louis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Millie and Christine were born on 11^th July 1851 and were African American pygopagus conjoined twins. They had several stage names. Some of their names were the United African Twins, The Carolina Twins, The Two-Headed Nightingale, and the Eight Wonder of the World.

Millie and Christine traveled the world as they performed songs and danced for entertainment. This helped them overcome years of slavery, forced medical observations, and any form of participation in fairs and freak shows. Their owners were changed over time until the emancipation proclamation ended their slavery and were returned to their parents.

They lived healthy lives until 8^th October 1912 when they died of tuberculosis. Millie died first and Christine died 12 hours later. Their grave was unmarked until 1969 when they were moved to a cemetery in Whiteville.

5. Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci

Jan Bondeson, The Two-Headed Boy, S. 176, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

These conjoined twins were born in Locana, Italy with their birth year believed to be between 1875 and 1877. Giacomo and Giovanni were unique as they had two ribcages that came together at the 6^th rib. What made them different is that they had two legs with four arms, two hearts, and separate diaphragms, and they shared large and small intestines.

However, the two controlled their own legs as well as none felt the body of the other. They were taken to several freak shows across the world and were examined by several doctors over the course. What made them unique is that they could not stand on their feet as they required support to even walk.

Giacomo and Giovanni spoke Italian, French, and German and could settle their disputes with their fists. They had different personalities including Giovanni loved beer, Giacomo loved mineral water, and was talkative, unlike Giovanni.

Their popularity grew in the United States where they had gone to shows which could pay them $1000 per week. After retiring from freak shows, the twins returned to Italy where they bought a Villa. However, there has been contradicting information about when they died.

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6. Maria and Daria (‘Masha and Dasha’) Krivoshlyapova

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 Born on 3^rd January 1959 in Russia, Maria and Daria were Ischiopagus tripus, conjoined twins. Their mother, Yekaterina Krivoshlyapova spent two days and nights giving birth to the twins naturally but she never got to see them. She was told that she had delivered a severely disabled child and that is how the conjoined twins were taken.

Maria and Daria were joined at the waist at an angle of 180 degrees. They had two heads, two torsos, four arms with one leg each, and a third which was vestigial at the back and could move. The twins were taken in for medical testing which came to be known as one of the worst as it included torture-like experiments.

The doctors could put one of them in ice-cold water to near-fatal temperatures as they observed any changes in the other twin. They could be burnt, starved, deprived of sleep, and electrocuted to test their reflexes. Maria and Daria were also observed using pneumograms, electrocardiograms, and encephalograms to monitor the functions of their brain, lung, and heart.

Another thing they were put through is tubes were inserted in their stomachs more often to monitor gastric fluids. Their blood was also drawn thrice daily for studying. In 1956, Daria and Maria were taken to the Central Scientific Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics where they were taught to walk and kept hidden in the children ward for 8 years.

In 1964, news of their existence spread which led to their transfer to a boarding school where they studied and even had their third leg amputated. They had different personalities with Masha being dominant, cheeky, and a tomboy, and Daria was the opposite. At one point in their lives, they became alcoholics through Daria and even got to meet their mother.

They went ahead and featured in a BBC documentary on the life of conjoined twins. On 13^th April 2003, Masha fell ill and died of a heart attack the following day. 17 hours later, Daria died due to blood poisoning from her dead sister. They were the oldest living conjoined twins at the time of their deaths. The bodies of Daria and Maria were cremated and their remains are at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow

7. Ladan and Laleh Bijani

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Ladan and Laleh were born on 17^th January 1974 and lived on 8^th July 2003. They were born a century to the day after Chang and Eng died. In 1979, the sisters were lost after their doctors left for the United States during the Iranian revolution.

They had been adopted and taken by Alireza Safaian who lived in the city of Karaj where they were found by their biological parents. In their twenties, Ladan wanted to study and become a lawyer whereas Laleh wanted to become a journalist. However, they decided to take Ladan’s option and studied law for four years at Tehran University.

The twins were eager to be separated and had to travel to Germany in 1996. However, their wish was not granted as the doctors claimed that the risk of an unsuccessful surgery was high and could cost their lives. Ladan and Laleh met Keith Goh in November 2002 and traveled to Singapore for the surgery even though they were told the risk was high.

Their decision attracted international media interest. The twins spent 8 months in Singapore going through extensive psychiatric and legal evaluation before the surgery which took place on 6^th July 2003. A large team consisting of international specialists at Raffles Hospital with 28 doctors and more than 100 medical assistants took part in the surgery.

Goh was the lead doctor who operated on Laleh while Ben Carson led the team operating on Ladan. The procedure proved to be difficult as their brains shared a major vein, the superior sagittal sinus that was fused together. Another undecided major vein which was not shown on the scans was also discovered in the operation room.

More undetected blood vessels were also encountered during the procedure. Ben Carson urged the team to stop the procedure, but Goh pushed for the surgery to go on. On 8^th July 2003, the team achieved the separation of Ladan and Laleh but they were in a critical state due to the massive blood loss. Ladan passed on at 14:30 on the operating while Laleh died ninety minutes later.

8. Patrick and Benjamin Binder

Patrick and Benjamin were born on 2^nd February 1987 in Germany. They were joined at the head. Their parents were determined to have them separated and took them to Johns Hopkins Children’s Centre.

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson was the one who took the task of separating the twins after three years of studying a three-dimensional physical model of the twins’ anatomy. On 6^th September 1987, they were successfully separated. However, they were left profoundly disabled with their parents being affected.

9. Abigail Loraine and Brittany Lee Hensel

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The American conjoined twins were born on 7^th March 1990 and are dicephalic parapagus, they have two heads joined to one torso. They have the appearance of a single body which has no marked variations. However, each one of them has a heart, stomach, spine, spinal code, and pair of lungs.

Abigail and Brittany controlled one arm and leg which was not easy for them to learn to crawl and clap as they required cooperation. What makes them amazing is that they can eat and write separately and simultaneously. They require active coordination to take part in activities like driving, swimming, running, playing piano, and others.

Dicephalic twins like Abigail and Brittany do not survive to adulthood, but the twins do and are living a normal life. The Life magazine and the Oprah Winfrey Show covered their lives. They also participated in their reality TV series, Abby & Brittany, and have been teachers in Minnesota since 2013.

10. Ronald Lee and Donald Lee Galyon

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On 28^th October 1951, Ronald and Donald were born at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Their parents were not expecting twins. Ronald and Donald shared a set of organs and their joining began from the sternum to the groin.

They stayed at the hospital set up till they were two years and deemed inseparable. The twins never got any formal education as schools claimed that they could be a distraction to other children. Their father took them to sideshow exhibits across the US, Latin America, and Canada to earn a living and cater to their daily lives.

They had to retire three decades later and lived but Ronnie developed a life-threatening lung infection in 2009. On 4^th July 2020, Ronald and Donald died of congestive heart failure in Dayton. In 2009, Guinness World Records regarded them as the oldest living set of conjoined twins.

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11. Clarence and Carl Aguirre

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 Clarence and Carl were born to Arlene, a Silaynon nurse in Manila who refused to abort after discovering she carried conjoined twins because she is Catholic. She gave birth to the craniopagus-conjoined twins via C-section. It was believed that without separation, they could not make it past 8 months.

The boys developed difficulties in eating by February 2003 and got sick more often. Through the Philippine Airlines Foundation and the American non-profit Children’s Chance, the twins were connected to New York-based neurosurgeon James T. Goodrich. The team of this doctor spent six months preparing and doing research for the separation surgery.

In October 2003, the surgery began which was conducted in several phases. On 4^th August 2004, Clarence and Carl became the first craniopagus twins to be separated successfully. They are living a normal life.

12. Kendra Deene Herrin and Maliyah Mae Herrin

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The former conjoined twins were born on 26^th February 2002 as Ischiopagus (Type D) / Omphalopagus (Type B). This meant that they were joined at the abdomen and pelvis. Between them was an abdomen, pelvis, liver, kidney, large intestines, and two legs controlled by each.

The surgery to separate them was debated between the doctors and parents because, at the age of 4, a kidney transplant could not be possible. However, the family and doctors decided to go ahead with the surgery on 7^th August 2006 which ended on the morning of 8^th August.

A kidney transplant was done on Maliyah after her mother donated, but it became incompatible in 2015. In May 2018, Maliyah got a successful kidney transplant. The twins are living well and being taught other essential things.

13. Krista and Tatiana Hogan

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Krista and Tatiana are conjoined craniopagus twins born on 25^th October 2006. They shared a brain and are linked at the head. Krista and Tatiana are the only unseparated conjoined craniopagus twins living in Canada.

In August 2007, doctors revealed that the twins could not be separated because they could die or get paralyzed. They frequently travel to Vancouver for more care at BC Children’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children.

14. Maria and Teresa Tapia

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Maria and Teresa were joined by their lower chest and abdomen when they were born on 8^th April 2010 in the Dominican Republic. They were classified as omphalopagus meaning that they shared a small portion of their small intestines, liver, and pancreas. 88% of blood flow from the liver went to Teresa’s side leaving Maria with close to 20% thus having low nutrients which was a call for separation surgery.

The World Paediatric Project jumped in to help the twins as the Dominican Republic does not gave the facilities required for the surgery. A team of 45 surgeons began the surgery which took 20 hours on 7^th November 2011 from 6 am. The procedure was the first to take place at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond.

After the surgery, Maria and Teresa underwent physical therapy and recovery. They were able to recover and started performing activities on their own. Maria and Teresa reside in the Dominican Republic and frequently travel to the US for follow-up care.

15. Anastasia and Tatiana Dogaru

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Anastasia and Tatiana were born on 13^th January 2004 to Romanian parents, Alin (a Byzantine Catholic priest) and Claudia, a nurse. They are craniopagus-conjoined twins whose parents were hopeful that they could get separated. Tatiana’s top section of the head is attached to the back of Anastasia’s.

The kidneys of Anastasia do not function which means that she relies on Tatiana’s kidneys. Tatiana also relies on the circulatory system of Anastasia. They shared blood flow to the back of the brain and some of their blood matter.

The twins were taken to North Texas by the World Craniofacial Foundation to evaluate possible separation. The studies continued well and there was success in inserting wire coils to the girls to redirect their blood flow. In August 2007, the separation surgery was called off as it was too dangerous.

Conjoined Twins are also normal people who are appreciated in the current world unlike in the past where they were used in freak shows. More studies are being conducted to ensure that the success rate of separations is high.

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