Atkinson exhibited in Philadelphia a man of forty who never had any distinct growth of hair since birth, was edentulous, and destitute of the sense of smell and almost of that of taste.

He had no apparent perspiration, and when working actively he was obliged to wet his clothes in order to moderate the heat of his body.

He could sleep in wet clothes in a damp cellar without catching cold.

There was some hair in the axillae and on the pubes, but only the slightest down on the scalp, and even that was absent on the skin.

His maternal grandmother and uncle were similarly affected; he was the youngest of 21 children, had never been sick, and though not able to chew food in the ordinary manner, he had never suffered from dyspepsia in any form.
He was married and had eight children.