Ed Gein was born in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, USA, on August 27, 1906,[REF] the second of two boys of George Philip (1873-1940)[REF]) and Augusta Wilhelmine (née Lehrke) Gein (1878-1945[REF]).
Edward was shy, and classmates and teachers remembered him as having strange mannerisms, such as seemingly random laughter, as if he were laughing at his own personal jokes.