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General Tom Thumb

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The wedding party comprised, from left to right: George Washington Morrison Nutt (1844–1881), Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838–1883), Lavinia Warren Stratton (1841–1919), Minnie Warren (1841–1878).
For the similarly named governor of New Jersey, see Charles C. Stratton.

General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), a little person who achieved great fame under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum. Stratton was a son of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, carpenter. He was born and raised in Middleborough, Massachusetts.

Born to parents of medium height, he was quite a large baby, weighing 9 pounds 2 ounces (4.14 kg) at birth. He developed normally for the first six months of his life, at which point he was 25 inches (64 cm) long and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kg). Then he stopped. His parents were reportedly embarrassed by his size. By late 1842, when Barnum heard about him, Charles Stratton hadn't grown an inch or put on any weight. Otherwise he was a totally normal child.

After reassuring his parents, Barnum taught the boy how to sing, dance and perform. In 1844, Barnum took young Stratton on a tour of Europe, making him an international celebrity. Stratton appeared twice before Queen Victoria. On one occasion, Stratton was attacked by Queen Victoria's pet poodle after a performance at Buckingham Palace [1].

In January 1851 he stood 2 foot 3 inches (70 cm) tall and five years later he measured 2 feet 6 inches (76 cm). Stratton's marriage on February 10, 1863, to another little person, Lavinia Warren, was front-page news. They stood atop a grand piano in New York City's Grace Episcopal Church to greet some 2,000 guests. The best man at the wedding was George Washington Morrison ("Commodore") Nutt, another diminutive performer in Barnum's employ. The maid of honor was Minnie Warren, Lavinia's even smaller sister. Following the wedding, the couple was received by President Lincoln at the White House. At the time of his wedding Stratton was 2 feet 9 inches (84 cm) tall and on his 30th birthday in 1868 was two inches (5 cm) taller.

The wedding couple as they appeared on the February 21, 1863 cover of Harper's Weekly magazine.

On January 10, 1883, General Tom Thumb was staying at the Newhall House in Milwaukee when a fire began on the first floor. More than 71 people died in what Milwaukee historian John Gurda calls "one of the worst hotel fires in American history." Luckily, a burly police officer plucked the General off a window ledge and carried him to safety.

Stratton owned a specially adapted home on one of Connecticut's Thimble Islands. He died of a stroke at the age of 45, 3 foot 4 inches (102 cm) tall and weighing 70 pounds (32 kg). Over 10,000 people attended the funeral. P.T. Barnum purchased a life-sized statue of Tom Thumb and placed it as a grave stone at Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport. Lavinia Warren is interred next to him with a simple grave stone that reads "His Wife".

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