The Incredible Tale of Phineas Gage

In 1848, a young man named Phineas Gage suffered a traumatic brain injury that astonished doctors and continues to fascinate scientists today.

While working on a railroad crew, an iron rod measuring 43 inches in length and 1.25 inches in diameter was sent hurtling upward, piercing through Gage's cheek and ripping through his frontal lobe before exiting the top of his skull. Astonishingly, Gage survived the accident, but not without some long-term effects. Learn more about the accident and aftermath in this overview of Phineas Gage.

Until recently, there were no known photographs of Gage. In 2009, vintage photo collectors posted an image of an injured man holding a metal rod on a social image sharing site, and someone soon suggested that the man depicted in the photo might be the famous Phineas Gage. You can see more images in this illustrated tour of Gage's life.

_{Image from the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.}