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Phineas Gage facts for kids

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Phineas Gage Cased Daguerreotype WilgusPhoto2008-12-19 EnhancedRetouched Color
Gage holding the iron that impaled his skull in 1849

Phineas P. Gage (July 9, 1823 – May 21, 1860) was an American railroad construction foreman. He is known for his unlikely survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe. This caused effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life.

Gage was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He died on May 21, 1860 in the San Francisco Bay Area from status epilepticus (a form of a seizure), aged 36.

Gallery

  • Phineas gage - 1868 skull diagram
    A diagram of Gage's skull after being impaled by the iron
  • Phineas Gage injury - animation (frontal lobe)
    A 3D diagram of his injury
  • Simulated Connectivity Damage of Phineas Gage 4 vanHorn PathwaysDamaged
    A detailed diagram of the brain damage Gage had
  • Gage reconstruction (Ratiu et al.)
    A simple drawing showing the process of Gage's accident and recovery
  • Simulated Connectivity Damage of Phineas Gage SkullDisplayWarren
    Gage's skull on display at Harvard University


Images for kids

  • Nightcap BenjaminBell ASystemOfSurgery 7thEd1801 Vol VII Plate CVII Fig1

    A nightcap used as a bandage

  • Members of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement

    Bigelow presented Gage to the elite Boston Society for Medical Im­prove­ment in 1849. In this 1853 Society portrait Oliver Wendell Holmes is seated second from left.

  • Concord Stagecoach number 251

    A Concord coach, likely the type driven by Gage in Chile

  • PhineasGage CavendishMemorialPlaque2

    Memorial plaque, Cavendish, Vermont

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