This day in history: Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud was born on this day in 1761. She was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and the Madame Tussauds wax museum she founded in London. Madame Tussauds also has wax museums in a number of other major cities.
Marie's mother was the housekeeper for a doctor who made wax models to illustrate anatomy. She picked up the trade from him...and in 1777, she created her first wax figure, that of Voltaire. She branched out and made wax figures of other notable people in her day, and she even toured for decades with her wax figures. She renamed her show as Madame Tussaud's. In 1802, she accepted an invitation from Paul Philidor, a lantern and phantasmagoria pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his show at the Lyceum Theatre, London. From 1831, she took a series of short leases on the upper floor of "Baker Street Bazaar" (on the west side of Baker Street, Dorset Street, and King Street in London). This became Tussaud's first permanent home in 1836.
The wax museums have hosted the likenesses of hundreds of people over the years, everyone from Aaliyah to Zoe Saldana. Some figures however have been more controversial than others. "In 2008, a German man rushed past security on the opening day of the Berlin Madame Tussauds and ripped Hitler's head off. A sign asked people to refrain from posing with or taking pictures of the statue, but didn't specify that decapitation was prohibited as well. 'It disturbs me that Hitler should become a tourist attraction,' the attacker said." Source
Madame Tussauds rebuilt the Hitler figure, stating, "Figures are chosen for their popularity or for their influence on the path of history -- for better or for worse. Adolf Hitler stands for a decisive part of Berlin's history, which cannot be denied."
It has since been removed due to pressure. However, other dictators, such as Josef Stalin and Mao are allowed to stay up, even though they killed more people.
The news satire site Clickhole reported that the Tom Hanks wax figure scandalously bit a child. They sadly reported "'Tom Hanks was an integral part of our wax museum and brought immeasurable joy to many over the years, but once he began to act aggressively, we had no option but to utilize one of the furnaces that we had installed for this very reason,' said curator Benjamin Davis as he defended the staff’s actions during a recent press conference. 'Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we apologize to anyone who was affected by this loss, as well as anyone in the museum who was subjected to hearing the statue’s screams resonate through the floorboards while it slowly melted.'"
Marie Tussaud's life has imitated her art, as she now also has a wax figure of herself.
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