Oodles of multiples — eight sets of twins, one set of triplets, six sets of quadruplets, and one set of quintuplets — were featured in an early 1944 issue of LIFE magazine. Most of these multiples had been born in the 1920s and 1930s.
Curious about the names? I knew you would be! Here they are, along with ages and other details.
Twins:
- Marjorie and Mary Vaughan, 19.
- Lois and Lucille Barnes, 21.
- Betty and Lenore Wade, early 20s.
- Robert “Bobby” and William “Billy” Mauch, 22.
- They had starred in the 1937 movie The Prince and the Pauper.
- Blaine and Wayne Rideout, 27.
- They had been track stars at the University of North Texas in the late 1930s along with another set of twins, Elmer and Delmer Brown.
- Charles and Horace Hildreth, 41.
- Horace was elected Governor of Maine later the same year.
- Ivan and Malvin Albright, 47.
- Auguste and Jean Piccard, 60.
- “Honors as the world’s most distinguished pair of twins must go to Jean and Auguste Piccard, stratosphere balloonists, who are so identical that not everyone realizes there are two of them.”
Triplets:
- Diane Carol, Elizabeth Ann, and Karen Lynn Quist, 11 months.
Quadruplets:
- Claire (boy), Cleo (boy), Clayton (boy), and Connie (girl) Brown, 3.
- Janet, Jean, Jeraldine, and Joan Badgett, 5.
- “The customary alliteration in multiple names accounts for the “J” in Jeraldine.”
- Felix (boy), Ferdinand (boy), Frances (girl), and Frank (boy) Kasper, 7.
- James (boy), Jay (boy), Jean (girl), and Joan (girl) Schense, 13.
- Edna, Wilma, Sarah, and Helen Morlok — the Morlok Quads — 13.
- Anthony, Bernard, Carl, and Donald Perricone, 14.
- “Their Beaumont neighbors call them “A,” “B,” “C” and “D” for short.”
Quintuplets:
- Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie, and Yvonne Dionne — the Dionne Quints — 9.
Which of these sets of names do you like best? Why?
Source: “Twins: Accident of Their Birth Sets Them Apart from Other People.” Life 6 Mar. 1944: 91-99.
Image: © 1944 Life
