1841 Tom Thumb was born Charles S. Stratton on January 4, 1837 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Billed as General Tom Thumb, he was initially exhibited as one of Barnum’s curiosities. Advertised as a “perfectly formed man in miniature,” he was actually a midget with skeletal proportions more similar to the average person than most midgets. Later in his career, he would pose as various characters for short plays and sketches such as the Emperor Napolean, a Scottish Highlander, a student at Oxford, an American tar-baby, and Frederick the Great. Later programs with his wife, Lavinia, and other midgets appeared more like variety shows. He died in 1883, at the age of 45.