Image:Charles_Sherwood_Stratton_and_Lavinia_Warren_marriage.jpg
'''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 4 years old, the son of a Bridgeport,_Connecticut carpenter, when Barnum met him. He was 25 inches (64 cm) tall (his final height would be 33 inches/84 cm) and weighed just 15 pounds (7 kg) at the time Barnum taught him 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.
Stratton's marriage on February_10, 1863 to another dwarf, 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 was George Washington Morrison ("Commodore") Nutt, another diminutive performer in Barnum's employ. Following the wedding the couple was received by President Lincoln at the White_House.
Stratton owned a home on one of Connecticut's Thimble_Islands. He died of a stroke on July 15, 1883, and over 10,000 people attended his funeral.
==External links==
*"Sideshow Ephemera Gallery: General Tom Thumb" by James G. Mundie - biographical essay with photos
*1862 Harper's portrait and report on General Tom ThumbWedding
Thumb, General Tom
Thumb, General Tom
Thumb, General Tom
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