Carl Herman Unthan (1848-?) was a Prussian_born violinist who was born without hands.
Carl Herman Unthan was born in Prussia in 1848 to the family of a teacher. Despite his deformities, he survived and learned to use his bare feet to manipulate objects, including a violin he found in a family attic.
When Unthan was sixteen, he was sent to a conservatory and graduated a couple of years later.
By the age of 20, Unthan was a famous violinist who performed to full concert halls in Vienna with classical orchestras. He began with personal concerts and later added additional tricks to his repertoire - changing a broken string in a middle of a concert, lighting cigarettes, pouring drinks and doing card tricks. Later he married Antonie Neschta, whom he had toured with for a time. He moved to the United States and eventually gained citizenship.
In 1925, Unthan published an autobiography, Das Pediscript (instead of manuscript – because he had typed it with his feet, pedally, as opposed to manually). It was published in English 1935 and entitled The Armless Fiddler.
CarlHermanUnthan (1848 — 1928) was a Prussian-born violinist who was born without arms.
Unthan's father was a teacher who insisted he not be "coddled".
Whether this was the reason or not, Carl reportedly could feed himself at two and around the age of ten is said to have taught himself to play the violin by strapping it on to a stool.
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