Dionne quintuplets
The Dionne Quintuplets (born on May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy.
The five identical sisters are:
- Annette
- Cecile
- Emilie (died August 6, 1954 of an epileptic seizure)
- Marie (died February 27, 1970 of a blood clot to the brain)
- Yvonne (died June 23, 2001)
They were born in Callandar, Ontario in northern Ontario to French Canadians Elzire and Oliva Dionne in the midst of the Great Depression. They were born two months prematurely with the assistance of Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe and two wet nurses.
The custody of the babies was withdrawn from their parents by the Ontario government. The girls were then put under the guidance of Dr. Dafoe. Ontario housed them in Quintland, a 'theme park' located just across from the parents home. The sisters could be viewed by visitors through a one-way mirror. Approximately 6,000 people per day visited the park to observe them. The girls were also used to publicize commercial products such as corn syrup and Quaker Oats and starred in some Hollywood films:
- The Country Doctor (1936)
- Reunion (1936)
- Five of a Kind (1938)
- Quintupland (1938)
After a nine-year court fight between the government and their father, the quintuplets were returned to their family.
In 1965, they published a book called 'We Were Five'. Early in their lives a few movies were made about them and in 1994 a CBS movie was also made. In 1995, the surviving girls alleged sexual abuse from their father when they were children. In 1998, the Ontario government gave the Dionnes a settlement of $4 million CDN.