The Glutton, 1813, Thomas Rowlandson.
Charles Domery was born in Benche, Poland, in around 1778.
He was one of nine brothers, all of whom Domery said had ravenous appetites.
Even his father, Domery recalled, was a hearty eater and generally ate his meat half-boiled.
Domery joined the Prussian Army at a young age, but constantly complained about the lack of food.
Hunger drove him to switch sides and he joined the French Revolutionary Army.
While with the French, Domery was granted double rations but still he starved.
recalled fellow soldier M. Picard.
Domery liked to eat meat raw; he would vomit when fed roasted or boiled meat.
His favorite meat was raw bullock’s liver, but he would eat anything when he was hungry.
He showed no signs of mental illness, and no outward signs of ill health.
In 1798, Domery was captured by the British and imprisoned in a camp near Liverpool.
After they witnessed Domerys enormous appetite, they agreed to place him on double rations.
Still, Domery was hungry.
He ate the prison cat, and about twenty rats.
The doctors decided to conduct an experiment on him to determine how much he could actually consume.
At four in the morning, Domery was woken up and fed 4 pounds of raw cows udder.
By two oclock, Domery was seen chatting with two of his friends and was in good spirits.
He had nearly finished the whole of the candles and a great part of the beef.
Before going to sleep, Domery danced, smoke his pipe and drank a further bottle of porter.
The sweating would cease, but start again once he started eating.
Like Domery, Tarrare also served the French army where he too became a subject of experiment.
Several times he was caught trying to eat the corpses in the morgue.
Then one day day, a 14-month-old child disappeared and Tarrare became an immediate suspect.
He was driven out of the hospital and died of tuberculosis a few years later.
Neither men were properly diagnosed, and only Tarrare was autopsied.
Domery disappeared after his release from prison.
Polyphagia is usually resulting from hyperthyroidism that can give sufferers a fast metabolism and extreme hunger.
There are a dozen more conditions including several congenital diseases that can cause a person to develop morbid appetites.
Domery and Tarrare could have been suffering from any one of it.
