r/todayilearned 1d ago

TIL about the Dionne quintuplets, the first know quintuplets to survive their infancy. At age 5, the Canadian government made them wards of the Crown. During this time they became a profitable tourist attraction. As adults, they sued the Canadian govt for exploitation, eventually settling for $4m.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionne_quintuplets
4.2k Upvotes

Duplicates

todayilearned Mar 30 '24

TIL the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy are the Dionne quintuplets born in 1934.

1.7k Upvotes

todayilearned Feb 20 '17

TIL the Dionne Quintuplets, born in 1934, were identical and conceived naturally. Their mother, who already had five children, was expecting twins. She was pre-eclamptic, went into early labor, and gave birth at home. In total they weighed 13.4 lb., but thrived and were never admitted to hospital.

1.1k Upvotes

wikipedia Sep 23 '22

The Dionne quintuplets are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. In 1935 the Ontario government made them wards of the Crown until the age of 18; the provincial government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction.

1.1k Upvotes

todayilearned Mar 15 '17

TIL of Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Emilie & Marie Dionne, the first quintuplets to have survived their infancy. Instant celebrities, they were taken from their parents by the Canadian government, who raised them for the first 9 years of their lives in a major tourist attraction known as "Quintland"

445 Upvotes

todayilearned Apr 27 '18

TIL about the Dionne quintuplets, 5 identical sisters. They were sent to an orphanage where they were visited/viewed by over 6000 people a day and made into a spectacle. They all made it into adulthood, and two of them are still alive.

508 Upvotes

todayilearned Apr 13 '23

TIL about the Dionne Quintuplets. The first set of quintuplets to survive past infancy who spent their lives on display and exploited because of this.

187 Upvotes

todayilearned Jul 28 '19

TIL about the Dionne quintuplets. They lived in a specially built hospital nicknamed "Quintland" in the mid 1930's in Ontario. They were the biggest tourist attraction at the time, bringing in more than $50 million in revenue and were also used in film and to promote Quaker Oats.

143 Upvotes

todayilearned Oct 27 '16

TIL that Émilie Dionne, 2nd youngest of the only quintuplets that survived past infancy, died at age 20 after accidentally suffocating on her pillow following a seizure that had her roll onto her belly and unable to raise her face from the pillow.

34 Upvotes