This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Mitchell Hepburn with Dionne babies ca. 1934

The Dionne quintuplets, born on May 28, 1934, are the first identical quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The sisters were born just outside Callander, Ontario, Canada in the village of Corbeil. The surviving quintuplets prefer to be referred to as the Dionne sisters. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 745 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (760 × 612 pixel, file size: 69 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken from Libraries and Archives Canada [1] The website includes the following information Item part of: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation collection Mitchell Hepburn with Dionne Quintuplets... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 745 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (760 × 612 pixel, file size: 69 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken from Libraries and Archives Canada [1] The website includes the following information Item part of: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation collection Mitchell Hepburn with Dionne Quintuplets... Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 - January 5, 1953) was Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. ... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Identical Triplet Sisters A multiple birth results when more than one human baby is born from a single pregnancy. ... A human infant The word Infant derives from the Latin in-fans, meaning unable to speak. ... The Municipality of Callander (formerly the Township of North Himsworth) is a township in central Ontario, Canada located at the southeast end of Lake Nipissing in the District of Parry Sound. ... // Location Corbeil, Ontario is a small community on the La Vase River east of North Bay, Ontario. ...

The Dionne girls were born two months prematurely with the assistance of Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe and two midwives, Madame Legros and Madame Lebel. Doctor Allan Roy Dafoe (29 May 1883 - 2 June 1943) was a Canadian obstetrician, best known for delivering and caring for the Dionne Quintuplets, the first quintuplets known to survive early infancy. ...

The quintuplets

The identical quintuplet sisters were:

• Annette Lillianne Marie Dionne (Allard)
• Cécile Marie Emilda Dionne (Langlois)
• Emilie Marie Jeanne Dionne (died August 6, 1954 of accidental suffocation during an epileptic seizure at her convent)
• Marie Reina Alma Dionne (Houle) (died February 27, 1970 of an apparent blood clot of the brain in Montreal)
• Yvonne Edouilda Marie Dionne (died June 23, 2001 of cancer)

In their books, We Were Five and Family Secrets, Cecilie, Yvonne, and Annette Dionne reveal that Emilie had a series of seizures while a postulant at a convent. She had asked not to be left unattended but the nun who was supposed to be watching her thought she was asleep and went to Mass. Emilie had another seizure, rolled onto her stomach and, unable to raise her face from a pillow, accidentally suffocated. is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the neurological disorder as it affects humans. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A thrombus is the final product of blood coagulation, through the aggregation of platelets and the activation of the humoral coagulation system. ... Human brain In animals, the brain (enkephale) (Greek for in the skull), is the control center of the central nervous system, responsible for behavior. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (well-being through harmony) Coordinates: , Country Province Region Montréal Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ... is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

Biography

Birth

Although associated with Callander, they were actually born outside the community, in a farmhouse in unregistered territory, and their births were registered in nearby Corbeil. The Dionne Quintuplets Museum was moved to the nearest city, North Bay, at the intersection of Highway 11 and the Trans Canada Highway, in order to have greater exposure to the travelling public. North Bay (, time zone EST) is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada (2006 population 53,966). ... Ontario provincial highway 11 is one of the longest of Ontarios Kings Highways, with a current length (as of 2004) of 1636 km. ... Example of Trans-Canada Highway marker shield. ...

Exploitation

The family was poor with five previous children (a sixth, son Leo, died of pneumonia shortly after birth). While the rural community did what they could, no one expected the babies to survive.

Soon, the Ontario government intervened. The custody of the five babies was withdrawn from their parents by the Ontario government of Mitchell Hepburn in 1935, originally for a guardianship of two years. They were put under the guidance of Dr. Dafoe and three other guardians. Ironically, although the children were removed from their parents' legal custody to protect them from exploitation and to ensure their survival into healthy toddlers, the government quickly realized the massive interest in Cecile, Annette, Marie, Yvonne, and Emilie, and proceeded to exploit them for financial gain. The girls were made the wards of the provincial crown until they reached the age of 18. Across the road from their birthplace, the Dafoe Hospital and Nursery was built for only the five girls and their caregivers to live in. The observation gallery, where thousands of people watched from meshed screens as the children played twice a day, became part of "Quintland," a theme-park like atmosphere showcasing and selling Quintuplet merchandise. Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 - January 5, 1953) was Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. ...

Approximately 6,000 people per day visited the observation gallery to view the Dionne sisters. Close to three million people walked through the gallery between 1936 and 1943^[1]. In 1934, the quintuplets brought in about $1 million, and they attracted in total about $51 million of tourist revenue to Ontario. Quintland became Ontario's biggest tourist attraction of the era, at the time surpassing Niagara Falls. For other uses, see Niagara Falls (disambiguation). ...

From infancy until the age of nine, Marie, Cecile, Yvonne, Emilie, and Annette lived in the hospital, and were not allowed out of sight, to have friends, to participate in family chores, to attend village schools, or to have contact with their parents and siblings. Cared for by nurses, whom the girls sometimes viewed as maternal figures, the five children lived essentially as one unit, with little understanding or knowledge of the world outside the nursery fence.

The sisters, and their likenesses and images, along with Dr. Dafoe, were used to publicize commercial products such as corn syrup and Quaker Oats among thousands of other popular brands. They starred in four Hollywood films: This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Tate & Lyle brand Corn Syrup being moved by tank car Corn syrup is a syrup, made using corn (maize) starch as a [feedstock], and composed mainly of [glucose]. A series of two [enzyme|enzymatic] reactions are used to convert the corn starch to corn syrup. ... Quaker Oats Company makes many types and flavors of oatmeal. ... Hollywood redirects here. ...

• The Country Doctor (1936)
• Reunion (1936)
• Five of a Kind (1938)
• Quintupland (1938)

Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Return to family

The quintuplets in 1947.

In November 1943, Oliva Dionne finally won a long custody battle. The quintuplets, aged nine, moved into a mansion up the road from Quintland, joining their parents and siblings, who were virtual strangers to them, to live as a family. The yellow brick, 20-room mansion was paid for out of the quintuplets' fund, unknown to them at the time. The home had all the luxuries of the time, including telephones, electricity and hot water. The mansion was nicknamed "The Big House." Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The sisters increasingly appeared and performed at various functions. In particular, their performance of "There'll Always Be an England" (for the war effort) irritated some French-Canadians^{[citation needed]}. Footage of the event included in a 1978 National Film Board of Canada documentary hosted and narrated by Pierre Berton shows the 13-year-olds reciting their names and singing. Therell always be an England is an english patriotic song, popular in World War II, composed and written by Ross Parker & Harry Par-Davies in 1939. ... Canadiens redirects here. ... The National Film Board of Canada (usually National Film Board or NFB) is a Canadian public filmmaking organization established to produce and distribute films that inform Canadians and promote Canada around the world. ... Pierre Francis Berton, CC, O.Ont, BA, D.Litt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist. ...

Adult years

In 1965, author James Brough wrote a book, in cooperation with the four surviving quintuplets, called We Were Five. This account, along with The Dionne Years, a biography by Pierre Berton, were the inspiration for a 1994 TV movie about them, Million Dollar Babies (1994), produced by CBS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and starring Roy Dupuis and Céline Bonnier. The next year, in their book Family Secrets, the three remaining sisters alleged they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, and that a member of the clergy urged them to cope by wearing thick coats. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Pierre Francis Berton, CC, O.Ont, BA, D.Litt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Radio-Canada redirects here. ... Roy Dupuis (April 21, 1963) is a French-Canadian (Québécois) actor. ... Céline Bonnier (born August 31, 1965) is a French Canadian actress from Quebec. ... Bad Touch redirects here. ...

In both 'We Were Five' and 'Family Secrets', they accused their mother of physical and verbal abuse, described their siblings as envious and cruel, and claimed that they were told the family would have been better off if they had not been born. By their report and that of their closest sister Pauline, their upbringing in the Big House was filled with double messages; their father said repeatedly that they would receive no special treatment and were to think of themselves as equal to his other children, yet in daily life they were treated by their parents as a five-part unit. They were denied privileges the other children received as a matter of course, received a heavier share of the house- and farmwork, and were invariably dressed alike. According to the surviving quints, any attempt to become independent was prevented by their father when he could; he blamed "outsiders" for their "disloyalty" to the family.

References

1. ^ "The Dionne quintuplets: A Depression-era freak show", CNN Interactive, CNN, 1997-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. 

For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Dionne Quintuplets

• Biographies
• Timeline
• Dionne Quints Digitization Project
• Dionne Quints Ahnentafel 14 generations previous: 1934-1515
• Life and Times: Full Circle: The Untold Story of the Dionne Quintuplets (CBC)
• Annette Dionne at the Internet Movie Database
• Million Dollar Babies at the Internet Movie Database