Peg leg

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File:MWP Sowinski.JPG

Peg leg of Józef Sowiński

A peg leg is a prosthesis, or artificial limb, fitted to the remaining stump of a human leg, especially a wooden one fitted at the knee.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its use dates to antiquity.<ref>Cantos, Mae (2005) "Pirates & Peg Legs: a Historical Look at Amputation and Prosthetics" In: Whitelaw, William A. (2005) (editor) Proceedings of the 14h Annual History of Medicine Days Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, pp. 16–20, Template:OCLC, page 16</ref>

History

By the late 19th century, prosthetics vendors would offer peg legs as cheaper alternatives to more intricate, lifelike artificial legs.<ref name=marks>Template:Citation</ref> Even as vendors touted advantages of more complicated prostheses over simple peg legs,<ref name=marks/> according to a contemporary surgeon, many patients found a peg leg more comfortable for walking.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> According to medical reports, some amputees were able to adjust to the use of a peg leg so well that they could walk 10, or even 30, miles in one day.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Nowadays, wooden peg legs have been replaced by more modern materials, though some sports prostheses do have the same form.<ref>Clarke, Carl D. (1965) Prosthetics Standard Arts Press, Butler, Maryland, Template:OCLC, page 182</ref>

Notable peg leg wearers

• François Le Clerc (died 1563), privateer
• Cornelis Jol, (1597–1641), privateer and Dutch West India Company admiral
• Peter Stuyvesant (1612–1672), Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Blas de Lezo (1687–1741), Spanish admiral
• Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816), American politician
• Brook Watson (1735–1807), Lord Mayor of London
• Pierre Daumesnil (1776–1832), French general
• Józef Sowiński (1777–1831), Polish General
• Billy Waters (1778–1823), aka Black Billy, former African American slave, then sailor in the British Navy until he became an amputee. Also a busker of prolific merit.
• Vuk Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian linguist
• Thomas L. Smith (1801–1866), American mountain man
• Albert Chmielowski (1845–1916), Polish artist, founder of the Albertine Brothers and Sisters, saint of the Catholic Church
• Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804?–1859), nicknamed "Three-legged Willie", Republic of Texas Supreme Court Justice, state lawmaker, and Texas Ranger
• Kushibiki Yumindo (1859?–1924), Japanese impresario
• Peg Leg Bates (1907–1998), dancer
• Peg Leg Sam (Arthur Jackson) (1911–1977), American blues musician
• Bill Veeck (1914–1986), American baseball executive
• Joe "Pegleg" Morgan (1929–1993), first non-Hispanic member of the Mexican Mafia, an American criminal organization

Further reading

Books

• Murdoch, George and Wilson, A. Bennett (1998) A primer on amputations and artificial limbs C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, Template:ISBN
• Pitkin, Mark R. (2009) Biomechanics of Lower Limb Prosthetics Springer verlag, New York, Template:ISBN
• Seymour, Ron (2002) Prosthetics and orthotics: lower limb and spinal Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Template:ISBN
• Warren, D. W. (2001) James Gillingham: surgical mechanist & manufacturer of artificial limbs Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society, Taunton, England, Template:ISBN

Articles

• Template:Cite book
• Cantos, Mae (2005) "Pirates & Peg Legs: a Historical Look at Amputation and Prosthetics" In: Whitelaw, William A. (2005) (editor) Proceedings of the 14h Annual History of Medicine Days Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, pp. 16–20, Template:OCLC
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite journal
• Reeves, Nicholas (1999) "New lights on ancient Egyptian prosthetic medicine" In: Davies, W. V. (editor) (1999) Studies in Egyptian Antiquities. A Tribute to T.G.H. James British Museum Press, London, pp. 73–77, Template:ISBN
• Template:Cite journal
• Wilson, Philip D. (1922) "Early weight-bearing in the treatment of amputations of the lower limbs"Template:Dead link The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 4: pp. 224–247