Amnesia used to be a common plot device on TV shows. Perhaps it still is. There is a documented case of a man having amnesia for 37 years. His memory began to be restored as he recovered from a stroke.
John R. Crosswhite disappeared in 1936. He had an accident while on his way from his home in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to St. Louis. His wrecked car was discovered but he had vanished. A married man with five children, Crosswhite was declared dead in 1940. John R. Cross was married in Joplin, Mo., in 1942 and had two children with his second wife. It wasn't until September 1973 that he remembered his true identity.
It's an interesting story. I chanced upon it via Google Books searching while looking for a man with the same name. I don't know if Crosswhite/Cross knew he had amnesia or not. His case has probably been written up by someone other than the AP. When he did awaken after his stroke, he asked about his brother. Apparently he still had no memory of his first wife and their children. A shock to the Cross family and bewilderment for the Crosswhites, I would think.
John R. Crosswhite disappeared in 1936. He had an accident while on his way from his home in Cape Girardeau, Mo., to St. Louis. His wrecked car was discovered but he had vanished. A married man with five children, Crosswhite was declared dead in 1940. John R. Cross was married in Joplin, Mo., in 1942 and had two children with his second wife. It wasn't until September 1973 that he remembered his true identity.
It's an interesting story. I chanced upon it via Google Books searching while looking for a man with the same name. I don't know if Crosswhite/Cross knew he had amnesia or not. His case has probably been written up by someone other than the AP. When he did awaken after his stroke, he asked about his brother. Apparently he still had no memory of his first wife and their children. A shock to the Cross family and bewilderment for the Crosswhites, I would think.