Anomalies and Curiosities of MedicineGould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Science
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine
Gould, George M. (George Milbrey)
Abnormalities, Human; Medicine -- Anecdotes
On a tomb in Ely, Cambridgeshire, there is an inscription saying that
Richard Worster, buried there, died on May 11, 1856, the tomb being in
memory of his 22 sons and 5 daughters.
Artaxerxes was supposed to have had 106 children; Conrad, Duke of
Moscow, 80; and in the polygamous countries the number seems
incredible. Herotinus was said to have had 600; and Jonston also quotes
instances of 225 and even of 650 in the Eastern countries.
Recently there have been published accounts of the alleged experiments
of Luigi Erba, an Italian gentleman of Perugia, whose results have been
announced. About forty years of age and being quite wealthy, this
bizarre philanthropist visited various quarters of the world, securing
women of different races; having secured a number sufficient for his
purposes, he retired with them to Polynesia, where he is accredited
with maintaining a unique establishment with his household of females.
In 1896, just seven years after the experiment commenced, the reports
say he is the father of 370 children.
The following is a report from Raleigh, N.C., on July 28, 1893, to the
New York Evening Post:--
"The fecundity of the negro race has been the subject of much comment
and discussion. A case has come to light in this State that is one of
the most remarkable on record. Moses Williams, a negro farmer, lives in
the eastern section of this State. He is sixty-five years old (as
nearly as he can make out), but does not appear to be over fifty. He
has been married twice, and by the two wives has had born to him 45
children. By the first wife he had 23 children, 20 of whom were girls
and 3 were boys. By the second wife he had 22 children--20 girls and 2
boys. He also has about 50 grand-children. The case is well
authenticated."
We also quote the following, accredited to the "Annals of Hygiene:"--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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