page_title: Chang and Eng Bunker
section_title: Medical condition and deaths
hierarchical_section_title: Chang and Eng Bunker / Medical condition and deaths
caption_attribution_description: English: Grave of Eng and Chang Bunker near Mt. Airy, North Carolina, USADeutsch: Grab von Chang und Eng Bunker. Ελληνικά: Ο τάφος του Τσανγκ και του Ενγκ Μπάνκερ κοντά στο Μάουντ Έρι (Βόρεια Καρολίνα, Η.Π.Α.). 日本語: マウントエアリー近郊にあるブンカー兄弟と妻たちの墓石. Nederlands: Graf van Eng en Chang Bunker nabij Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Tiếng Việt: mộ của Eng và Chang Bunker gần Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Ngôi mộ của Eng và Chang Bunker gần Mt. Airy, North Carolina.
context_page_description: Chang and Eng Bunker were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression "Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as curiosities and were "two of the nineteenth century's most studied human beings".
  The brothers were born with Chinese ancestry in today's Thailand and were brought to the United States in 1829. Physicians inspected them as they became known to American and European audiences in "freak shows". Newspapers and the public were initially sympathetic to them, and within three years they left the control of their managers, who they thought were cheating them, and toured on their own. In early exhibitions, they appeared exotic and displayed their athleticism; they later held conversations in English in a more dignified parlor setting.
  In 1839, after a decade of financial success, the twins quit touring and settled near Mount Airy, North Carolina. They became American citizens, bought slaves, married local sisters, and fathered 21 children, several of whom accompanied them when they resumed touring.
context_section_description: At birth, Chang and Eng were healthy xiphopagus twins connected at the sternum by a flexible circular band of flesh and cartilage, about 5 inches (130 mm) long with a maximum circumference of 9 inches (230 mm). Their livers were connected through the band, and only at the middle of the ligament did they share sensation.
  Most physicians who met the twins recommended against surgery for separation, as with medical technology at the time it would have been a fatal procedure. However, contemporary medical literature strongly suggests that the twins could have been easily separated today. Their autopsy was performed by surgeon William Pancoast of Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College.
  While Eng enjoyed good health toward the end of his life, most of Chang's right side became paralyzed in 1870 after his stroke, and eventually his right leg needed to be kept in a sling. From then on, Chang—becoming a heavy drinker—remained in poor health. Chang contracted bronchitis in January 1874, and the family physician recommended that he stay indoors and warm. On January 15, the Bunkers traveled through cold weather to Eng's house. Chang seemed to have recovered somewhat by the next day but at night was unable to breathe comfortably. On Chang's urging the brothers slept sitting upright on a chair, in front of a fireplace. Eng was healthy physically yet weary from spending the past week with a seriously ill Chang, so he asked to move to their bed after hours of drifting in and out of sleep.
  Early in the morning of January 17, one of Eng's sons checked on the sleeping twins. "Uncle Chang is dead," the boy reportedly said to Eng, who responded, "Then I am going!" The family doctor was quickly sent for but Eng soon died, reportedly just over two hours after his brother's death. The Bunkers had the longest known lifespan (62 years) of any conjoined twins in history until 2012, when their record was surpassed by Ronnie and Donnie Galyon (1951–2020). Eng was remembered as a caring supporter of his brother, especially during their final years, when Chang developed severe illnesses. After their deaths, their good friend Jesse Franklin Graves recalled, "[Eng's] kindness was received with the warmest appreciation by Chang, whose disposition was very different from the morose, ill nature so falsely ascribed to him [by the press]."
caption: The Bunkers' grave in Mount Airy
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