John Daniel (1917–1922) was a

lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...

who was raised among humans in

Uley Uley is a village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Elcombe and Shadwell and Bencombe, all to the south of the village of Uley, and the hamlet of Crawley to the north. The village ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. John Daniel was born in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. After his mother was shot and killed by soldiers, John Daniel was brought over to England and ended up living with Major Rupert Penny. Unable to look after him full-time however, Penny then passed John Daniel over to his aunt, Alyce Cunningham, who lived in the village of Uley in Gloucestershire. He resided with her in the village from 1918 until 1921. John Daniel learned to use a toilet, make his bed, and drink tea and cider from cups. He was a playmate to the village children and was allowed to drink cider at the local pub. He also occasionally resided on Sloane Street in London when Cunningham traveled to her home there and would attend dinner parties. He rode in Cunningham's

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

. When he became too large to manage at , Alyce Cunningham sold him in 1921 for £1,100 to an American person who misled her to believe the gorilla would be retired to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Instead, John Daniel was placed with

Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth ...

. He was later sent to the Ringling Zoo at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Distraught from being away from his home and Cunningham, John Daniel's health worsened. The zoo sent for Cunningham, but she did not arrive in time, and he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at age 4. His body was given to the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

in New York City and was placed on display in 1922. A century after he lived in Uley, villagers made plans to erect a statue commemorating him.

Stroud District Council Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

granted permission, and the sculpture was unveiled in 2018. It was created by Sebastian Rasch and is made of Portland stone.

References

{{Notable apes, state=expanded 1917 animal births 1922 animal deaths Individual gorillas Circus apes Individual primates in the United States Male mammals Individual animals in England

Further reading

See also

References