American conjoined twins, Ronnie and Donnie Galyon were the oldest living set of conjoined twins in the world according to the 2009 Guinness World Records, and, as of 29 October 2014, possessed the world record for the longest-lived conjoined twins in history when they surpassed prior record holders Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci.
They were born joined from the sternum to the groin and shared a set of organs. After a two-year stay in 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.
With nine children to support, their father Wesley took the twins on the road as a sideshow attraction, exhibited throughout the U.S. and later in Latin America. Their tours made them celebrities and provided an income with which they supported their family.
In 1991, after three decades in entertainment, the pair retired and moved into their first independent home in Dayton, Ohio, 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.
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. The twins died in hospice in their native Dayton, Ohio on 4 July 2020 at age 68.
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