DIONNES TIMELINE

May 28, 1934

Elzire Dionne, 24, already a mother of five, gives birth to quintuplets Annette, Émilie, Yvonne, Cécile and Marie. They were the first quintuplets to survive for more than a few days.

May 27, 1935

The Ontario government removes the five girls from their parents’ home after their father, Oliva, signs a contract with promoters to exhibit the girls at the World’s Fair in Chicago. They are housed in a specially built hospital complex, staffed by professional nurses and their doctor, Allan Roy Dafoe, where close to 3 million visitors view them through two-way mirrors over the next nine years.

Nov. 17, 1943

Oliva Dionne regains custody of the quintuplets and the girls move back with their parents and eight siblings, in a newly built 19-room mansion, paid for by tourist dollars earned by the girls. Oliva transforms the former hospital complex into a school for them and a few selected companions. The quintuplets later allege their parents sexually and physically abused them.

Aug. 6, 1954

Émilie Dionne dies in a convent after having an epileptic seizure. Her parents had refused to reveal her epilepsy to a doctor.

Feb. 27, 1970

Marie Dionne dies of a blood clot in Montreal.

March 6, 1998

After years of negotiations, the Ontario government apologizes to the surviving three quints, now living in poverty in St-Bruno, for having exploited them. They are awarded a $4-million lump-sum payment. The quints had previously rejected an offer of $2,000 per month each for the rest of their lives.

June 23, 2001

Yvonne Dionne, the first of the quints to be born, dies of cancer in Charles LeMoyne Hospital.