Peg leg

For other uses, see Peg leg (disambiguation).

"Wooden leg" redirects here. For the Cheyenne warrior, see Wooden Leg.

A peg leg is a prosthesis, or artificial limb, fitted to the remaining stump of a human leg, especially a wooden one fitted at the knee.^[1] Its use dates to antiquity.^[2]

Peg leg of Józef Sowiński

History

By the late 19th century, prosthetics vendors would offer peg legs as cheaper alternatives to more intricate, lifelike artificial legs.^[3] Even as vendors touted advantages of more complicated prostheses over simple peg legs,^[3] according to a contemporary surgeon, many patients found a peg leg more comfortable for walking.^[4] According to medical reports, some amputees were able to adjust to the use of a peg leg so well that they could walk 10, or even 30, miles in one day.^[5]

Nowadays, wooden peg legs have been replaced by more modern materials, though some sports prostheses do have the same form.^[6]

Notable peg leg wearers

• François Le Clerc (died 1563), privateer
• Cornelis Jol, (1597–1641), privateer and Dutch West India Company admiral
• Peter Stuyvesant (1612–1672), Dutch Director-General of New Amsterdam^[7]
• Blas de Lezo (1687–1741), Spanish admiral
• Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816), American politician
• Brook Watson (1735–1807), Lord Mayor of London
• Pierre Daumesnil (1776–1832), French general
• Józef Sowiński (1777–1831), Polish General
• Billy Waters (1778–1823), aka Black Billy, former African American slave, then sailor in the British Navy until he became an amputee. Also a busker of prolific merit.
• Vuk Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian linguist
• Thomas L. Smith (1801–1866), American mountain man
• Albert Chmielowski (1845–1916), Polish artist, founder of the Albertine Brothers and Sisters, saint of the Catholic Church
• Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804?–1859), nicknamed "Three-legged Willie", Republic of Texas Supreme Court Justice, state lawmaker, and Texas Ranger
• Kushibiki Yumindo (1859?–1924), Japanese impresario
• Peg Leg Bates (1907–1998), dancer
• Peg Leg Sam (Arthur Jackson) (1911–1977), American blues musician
• Bill Veeck (1914–1986), American baseball executive
• Joe "Pegleg" Morgan (1929–1993), first non-Hispanic member of the Mexican Mafia, an American criminal organization