A 19th Century Medical Mystery: The Hungry Man of Essex
For those who like stories about eccentrics and medical mysteries. This is a tale I uncovered going through digitized newspapers and needed to tell his tale after learning about his sad ending.
Samuel Morse, an eccentric shipwright from Essex, Massachusetts, gained notoriety in the late 19th century as 'The Hungry Man of Essex' due to his insatiable appetite and mysterious condition. Despite numerous medical examinations and treatments, including a diagnosis of a tapeworm by a fraudulent doctor, his condition remained unexplained. His plight attracted attention from local and national media, and he briefly performed in a dime museum before suing for breach of contract. Ultimately, Morse's condition was never diagnosed, and he spent his final years in asylums, dying in 1907.
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