A Look Into The Life Of George Lippert The 3-Legged Man
When looking through the history of human marvels, some faces pop up again and again. While their stories are not always happy - they are fascinating to learn about.
The subject of this article is George Lippert. One of the most famous sideshow performers in history; he deserves to have his story told.
Who was George, and what makes his story so engaging? Let’s discuss his life, what made him famous, and how we remember him in the Ronald G. Becker Collection at Syracuse University.
Who Was George Lippert?
Photo credit: Wikimedia
George was born in 1844 in Bavaria and died in 1906. He was born with a parasitic twin, which resulted in him having a third leg.
Scientists believe parasitic twinning results from a partial split of twin embryos instead of complete separation. This means that the twins fuse, leaving the dominant twin with extra limbs.
George’s third leg was fully formed, although it was not functional in any way. George claimed that it had once been fully functional but was damaged in an accident. However, that was never actually proven.
His third foot also had had an extra toe, giving George sixteen in total. With the story of the three-legged boy growing more famous, he stepped into the public eye.
Rise to Fame and Life in the Spotlight
Lippert found fame in the sideshow business. A man with three legs isn’t a common sight, and he attracted large crowds.
He gained a name for himself as ‘The 3-Legged Man’ and proved quite a popular attraction for spectators. For most of the 50 years he spent as a sideshow attraction, Lippert worked in the circus of P.T. Barnum.
Despite his success as a performer, no photographs of George Lippert exist. A pitch card gives an idea of what he looked like - found at the top of this article. This was the only pitch card ever drawn up for Lippert.
This is highly unusual for a sideshow performer with a career as long as his. Some have used this to cast doubt over the validity of his condition, but no evidence has come out to support the skeptics.
In 1898, Lippert received some competition for his fame. One performer, in particular, leaning into his spotlight was Francesco Lentini (also known as Frank Lentini) from Sicily. Frank was a three-legged boy whose third leg was fully functional.
Being younger, Frank boasted a charm and energy that Lippert didn’t match.
Lentini became more and more well-known, and Lippert’s act grew less popular. The original 3-Legged Man was no more.
By 1899, the Sicilian-born prodigy replaced George. George began to struggle financially. Thankfully, he met a florist, Mary Riggs, who agreed to act as a benefactor.
George cohabitated with Mary Riggs for his final years in Salem, Oregon.
Death
George Lippert succumbed to tuberculosis, passing away at the age of 62 in 1906. However, his story doesn’t end there. An autopsy revealed that George had two hearts. Even more remarkable was the fact that one of the hearts had stopped beating two weeks before he died.
It is widely believed that if he hadn’t contracted TB, his two hearts would have prolonged his final years considerably.
Today, we remember him in the Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann Photographs. This collection is held at Syracuse University. In it is a photograph of a painting titled ‘George Lippert three-legged man.’
Conclusion
We remember George as an excellent performer whose story is inspirational. Although he was born with a condition that could have isolated him from society, he embraced it and embarked on a journey of success for many years.
We hope you’ve learned something new about the fascinating life of one of history's most famous sideshow performers. For other stories of famous and inspirational people, check our articles on Phreeque.com.