{{Short description|Australian polio survivor (1926–2009)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use Australian English|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = June Middleton | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = June Margaret Middleton | birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|05|04|df=y}} | birth_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | death_date ={{Death date and age|2009|10|30|1926|05|04|df=y}} | death_place = Thornbury, Victoria, Australia | occupation = | known_for = Formerly longest time in an iron lung | notable_works = }} '''June Margaret Middleton''' (4 May 1926 – 30 October 2009) was an Australian polio survivor who spent more than 60 years living in an iron lung for treatment of the disease.<ref name=australian>{{cite news |title=June Middleton, in iron lung for 60 years, dies |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/june-middleton-in-iron-lung-for-60-years-dies/story-e6frg6of-1225793113666 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231112016/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/june-middleton-in-iron-lung-for-60-years-dies/story-e6frg6of-1225793113666 |archive-date=31 December 2012 |url-status=dead|agency=Australian Associated Press|newspaper=The Australian|date=31 October 2009 |accessdate=28 November 2009}}</ref> In 2006, ''Guinness World Records'' recognised her as the person who had spent the longest amount of time living in an iron lung.<ref name=australian /> This record has since been surpassed by American lawyer Paul Alexander<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-iron-lung-patient |title=Longest iron lung patient |website=Guinness World Records |date=July 1952 |accessdate=4 December 2022}}</ref> and Martha Lillard.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-25 |title=Decades after polio, Martha is among the last to still rely on an iron lung to breathe |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/25/1047691984/decades-after-polio-martha-is-among-the-last-to-still-rely-on-an-iron-lung-to-br |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=www.npr.org |language=en}}</ref>
==Biography== Middleton was born in Melbourne on 4 May 1926, the only daughter of Robert and Lucy Middleton. She contracted polio when she was 22,<ref name=australian /> just months before her planned wedding.<ref name=pl>{{cite news|first=Suzanne |last=Robson |title=Iron lung record woman dies |url=http://preston-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/iron-lung-record-woman-dies/ |work=Preston Leader |date=4 November 2009 |accessdate=28 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924200737/http://preston-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/iron-lung-record-woman-dies/ |archivedate=24 September 2010 }}</ref> She entered the iron lung on 5 April 1949, and remained dependent on the machine for the rest of her life.<ref name=australian /> Middleton spent up to 21 hours a day in the iron lung to help her breathe.<ref name=hsun>{{cite news |first=Ellen |last=Whinnett |title=Iron lung woman dies |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/iron-lung-woman-dies/story-e6frf7jo-1225793045485 |work=Herald Sun|date=31 October 2009 |accessdate=28 November 2009}}</ref> Her husband-to-be stayed with her for five years before eventually marrying another woman and starting a family.<ref name=Sydney2009>{{cite news|title=Dead after 60 years in iron lung|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=1 November 2009|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/dead-after-60-years-in-iron-lung-20091101-hqyy.html?autostart=1|accessdate=1 July 2011}}</ref>
Middleton lived at Fairfield Hospital in Melbourne for more than 40 years.<ref name=pl /> She was then transferred to Austin Hospital before moving to her own home in Thornbury, which was managed by the Yooralla Ventilator Accommodation Support Service.
A campaigner for the rights of people confined to ventilators,<ref name=pl /> Middleton was also a fan of the Carlton Football Club.<ref name=pl />
On 5 April 2009, Middleton marked her 60th year in the iron lung<ref name=australian /> with friends and her dog Angel at her side.
She died in Thornbury, Victoria, on 29 October 2009, aged 83.
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, June}} Category:1926 births Category:2009 deaths Category:People from Melbourne Category:20th-century Australian women Category:Australian disability rights activists Category:21st-century Australian women Category:Polio survivors Category:20th-century Australian people Category:21st-century Australian people