Joseph Carey Merrick ( 5 August 1862 â `` 11 April 1890 ) was an English man who had a deformed face and body because of an illness . Joseph Carey Merrick ( 5 August 1862 â `` 11 April 1890 ) , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick , was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man .