Ronald Lee Galyon and Donald Lee Galyon (October 28, 1951 – July 4, 2020) were

conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...

. According to the 2009 ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'', the Galyons were the oldest living set of conjoined twins in the world, and, as of 29 October 2014, possessed the world record for the longest-lived conjoined twins in history when they surpassed prior record holders

Chang and Eng Bunker Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker (May 11, 1811 – January 17, 1874) were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression " Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as ...

Early life and career

They were born at St. Elizabeth Hospital in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, on October 28, 1951, to Wesley and Eileen Galyon. Eileen was not expecting twins. They were joined from the

sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sha ...

to the

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

and shared a set of organs. After a two-year stay in the hospital, it was determined that they could not be safely separated. Local schools deemed the twins a distraction, so they were not formally educated, resulting in their lifelong

functional illiteracy Functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level". Those who read and write only in a language other than the predominan ...

. With nine children to support, their father Wesley decided to take the twins on the road as a

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten ...

attraction. The boys were exhibited in sideshows throughout the U.S. and later in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Their tours made them celebrities and provided an income with which they supported their family.

Later life

In 1991, after three decades in entertainment, the pair retired and moved into their first independent home in

, in a house purchased with sideshow earnings. They were active in the community and lived a largely normal life by means of a custom double wheelchair. Although retired from show business, the twins made numerous television appearances. They appeared on ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...

'' in 1997, a Discovery Channel documentary in 1998 and a Channel Five documentary in 2009. In 2009, Ronnie developed a life-threatening infection in his lungs, which quickly endangered both twins. After their hospitalization, they required round-the-clock care. Their younger brother Jim and his wife Mary, who lived in the same city, were unable to bring the twins into their home as it was not handicap accessible, until an outpouring of donations and volunteers from the local community assisted in building a special addition to the home. On December 22, 2010,

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

premiered "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home", which documented the building process as well as the twins' recovery and their return to the community.

Death

The twins died of congestive heart failure in a hospice surrounded by their family in their native

, on July 4, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galyon, Ronnie and Donnie 1951 births 2020 deaths Conjoined twins People from Dayton, Ohio Sideshow performers American twins