General Tom Thumb, the 25-inch man, became P.T. Barnum's most popular attraction with his unparalleled charisma and charm.
ARCHIVIO GBB / Alamy Stock PhotoGeneral Tom Thumb, born Charles Stratton, circa 1848.
General Tom Thumb only stood about three feet, four inches tall. But he made a huge impact during his life as a 19th-century sideshow performer promoted by P.T. Barnum. He appeared before queens and presidents, drew adoring crowds, and was mourned by some 20,000 people when he died suddenly at the age of just 45.
Born Charles Stratton, General Tom Thumb’s appeal as a performer was not just his diminutive size. Stratton was a talented singer, actor, and improviser, and he seemed to charm everyone he met. By the end of his life, he had performed in front of an estimated 50 million people, and his 1863 wedding to Lavinia Warren was deemed so newsworthy that it superseded front page coverage of the Civil War — for three straight days.
Some would say — especially in modern times — that Stratton was exploited by Barnum, who hired him as a performer when Stratton was just four years old. But Statton continued to performed long after he’d made enough money to retire comfortably, remained close with Barnum, and even bailed out Barnum when the showman fell on hard times.
This is the remarkable story of General Tom Thumb, from his humble beginnings to his worldwide fame.
How Charles Stratton Became General Tom Thumb
Charles Stratton was born on Jan. 4, 1838, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to parents of normal heights. At first, the only thing that seemed unusual about Stratton was that he was a large baby — he weighed nine pounds at birth — but when he was six months old he stopped growing.
Four years later, showman P.T. Barnum was passing through town when he heard about the little boy who hadn’t grown in years. At the time, Charles Stratton weighed just 15 pounds and stood two feet, one inch tall.
Barnum had opened the doors of his American Museum in New York City that year, and was looking for additions to his “Hall of Living Curiosities.” It already contained sideshow performers who displayed themselves as “cannibals” and “giants,” and Stratton seemed like the perfect addition.
National Portrait GalleryGeneral Tom Thumb and P.T. Barnum, circa 1850.
So, the showman offered Stratton’s parents three dollars a week (more than $100 today), and they agreed to let their son accompany Barnum back to New York City, where Stratton would be displayed at the museum.
P.T. Barnum dubbed Charles Stratton “General Tom Thumb” (after the character from English folklore) and, to make his size more extraordinary, claimed that he was 11 years old. Before long, Stratton began to draw crowds, and word spread about “the smallest man alive.”
The Rising Fame Of ‘The Smallest Man Alive’
People came to see General Tom Thumb — and the others displayed at the American museum — out of a curiosity to about “freak show” performers. But Stratton’s star skyrocketed because he was much more than his size.
A talented performer, singer, and dancer — with killer comedic timing — Stratton performed in skits as Napoleon Bonaparte, cupid, or other characters. His musical performance and comedy routines delighted audiences and the press alike, and one newspaper wrote: “General Tom Thumb Jr., the dwarf, is the most wonderful specimen of a man who ever astonished the world. The idea of a young gentleman, 11-years-old weighing less than an infant of six months is truly wonderful.”
In 1844, Barnum decided to take six-year-old Charles Stratton to England. His alter ego, General Tom Thumb, was supposedly from England, after all, so what better way to make Stratton an international star?
London Stereoscopic Company/Getty ImagesTom Thumb standing on the hand of a Guardsman, circa 1875.
There was a worry that the British would view the spectacle as unsavory. Indeed, Stratton’s few performances went ill-received. But a visit with Queen Victoria following the death of Prince Albert’s father would change that.
Barnum himself described the performance before Queen Victoria in Buckingham Place this way:
“[The queen and her court] were standing at the farther end of the room when the doors were thrown open, and the General walked in, looking like a wax doll gifted with the power of locomotion. Surprise and pleasure were depicted on the countenances of the royal circle at beholding this remarkable specimen of humanity so much smaller than they had evidently expected to find him.
The General advanced with a firm step, and as he came within hailing distance made a very graceful bow, and exclaimed, “Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!”
A burst of laughter followed this salutation. The Queen then took him by the hand, led him about the gallery, and asked him many questions, the answers to which kept the party in an uninterrupted strain of merriment.”
Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty ImagesGeneral Tom Thumb in highland dress, 1860.
The part of the show that made everyone laugh the most was at the end. General Tom Thumb had to leave, but he couldn’t turn his back on the royals. Instead, he ran a few steps, turned around, and bowed. After repeating this a few times, a dog started barking at Stratton, who pretended to fight the dog using his walking stick. The crowd erupted in laughter.
Not only did Barnum and General Tom Thumb get an invitation to perform again, but they also embarked on a three-year tour of Europe, where Stratton would meet Queen Isabella of Spain and King Louis Philippe of France before the age of 10. Huge crowds flocked to see him, especially women, who would line up for blocks to get a kiss from General Tom Thumb.
But though Europe was an utter success, Charles Stratton’s performing days were far from over.
General Thumb’s Celebrity Wedding To Lavinia Warren
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesTom Thumb dressed as Napoleon I.
Following their European tour, Charles Stratton and P.T. Barnum returned to New York, where General Tom Thumb continued to delight huge audiences. But Stratton was growing up — he was also growing slightly taller, though he’d never be much taller than three feet — and in 1863 he got married.
Stratton’s chosen bride was 22-year-old Lavinia Warren, who was known as the “Queen of Beauty.” At two feet, eight inches tall, she was also even shorter than her husband-to-be.
Their lavish ceremony at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in New York City on Feb. 10, 1863, was a national spectacle. According to the Barnum Museum, it was such big news that wedding coverage even superseded reports about the Civil War, then in some of its bloodiest days.
Wikimedia Commons General Tom Thumb’s wedding in New York City in February 1863.
People lined up for blocks to get a glimpse of the couple, and some 10,000 people attended their reception at the Metropolitan Hotel, paying up to $75 for tickets to the event. Afterward, Stratton and Warren were even invited to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and Mary Lincoln.
“Those who did and those who did not attend the wedding of Gen. Thomas Thumb and Queen LAVINIA WARREN composed the population of this great Metropolis yesterday,” The New York Times wrote, “and thenceforth religious and civil parties sink into comparative insignificance before this one arbitrating query of fate — Did you or did you not see Tom Thumb married?”
Many people saw Barnum’s wedding as a publicity stunt, but the couple insisted that they were in love. Charles Stratton himself wrote that:
“It is true we are little but we are as God made us, perfect in our littleness. We are simply man and woman of like passions and infirmities with you and other mortals. The arrangements for our marriage are controlled by no showman’.”
Though their marriage may have been real, P.T. Barnum sometimes paraded the couple around with a baby in tow. Crowds initially went wild for the infant, but once the spectacle died down, Barnum claimed the baby had died. Lavinia wrote in her autobiography that the baby’s “death” was a hoax, but there is, in fact, evidence that the couple had a child.
Lavinia Warren and the baby she allegedly had with Charles Stratton.
Ultimately, General Tom Thumb and his wife didn’t need a hoax to stay in the public eye. When they embarked on a world tour shortly after their honeymoon, they were welcomed warmly in almost 600 cities.
The Final Bow Of General Tom Thumb
Thanks to his alter ego of General Tom Thumb, Charles Stratton lived a lavish life as an adult. He bought a luxurious house in New York City, a yacht, an impressive wardrobe, and multiple homes. Life was good, until a fire in 1885 came close to taking it all away.
Charles Stratton achieved great fame and wealth thanks to his performances, and could have retired at a young age if he had wished.
While staying at the Newhall House hotel in January 1883, Stratton and his wife were rescued after a fire broke out. The disaster, which claimed the lives of over 70 guests, is known as one of the worst hotel fires in American history.
Six months later, Charles Stratton died at the age of 45 from a stroke. Contemporary medical experts agree that he and his wife suffered from growth hormone deficiency, a condition related to a faulty pituitary gland in the brain. But whether this condition factored into Stratton’s death is uncertain to this day.
Lavinia Warren would marry Italian performer Count Primo Magri two years after Stratton’s death and remain active in the entertainment industry. In 1915, she even appeared in the silent film The Lilliputians’ Courtship, and, in 1919, she passed away at age 78 in Middleborough, Massachusetts.
Today, Warren is buried next to Stratton at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Because of Stratton’s celebrity, his grave has sadly been the frequent target of vandals.
Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0Stratton’s grave at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Connecticut.
And in years since, his legacy has undergone significant examination.
Was Charles Stratton exploited? More or less sold to a showman at the age of four, Stratton had little choice in his career, at least at the beginning. As a child, he simply did what his parents and P.T. Barnum instructed him to do.
But Stratton also achieved such great wealth that he could have retired at a young age — and chose not to. He seemed to have relished his time on stage, and to have appreciated his enormous celebrity. As General Tom Thumb, Stratton was ultimately seen by 50 million people worldwide. What’s more, working as a sideshow performer could be lucrative for people like Stratton, who might be demeaned or excluded from other professions.
And Stratton also stayed close with the man who “discovered” him for all his life. He was buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery, which P.T. Barnum had designed. It’s also where, in 1891, Barnum was laid to rest himself.
Discover more of P.T. Barnum’s freak shows and read about Myrtle Corbin, the four-legged girl from Texas, or peruse this collection of Barnum’s 13 most famous oddities.
