# June Middleton

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{{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](/source/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](/source/Melbourne%2C_Victoria), Australia
| death_date    ={{Death date and age|2009|10|30|1926|05|04|df=y}}
| death_place   = [Thornbury, Victoria](/source/Thornbury%2C_Victoria), Australia
| occupation    = 
| known_for     = Formerly longest time in an [iron lung](/source/iron_lung)
| notable_works = 
}}
'''June Margaret Middleton''' (4 May 1926 – 30 October 2009) was an Australian [polio](/source/polio) survivor who spent more than 60 years living in an [iron lung](/source/Negative_pressure_ventilator) 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](/source/Australian_Associated_Press)|newspaper=[The Australian](/source/The_Australian)|date=31 October 2009 |accessdate=28 November 2009}}</ref> In 2006, ''[Guinness World Records](/source/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](/source/Paul_Alexander_(polio_survivor))<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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Fairfield_Infectious_Diseases_Hospital) in Melbourne for more than 40 years.<ref name=pl /> She was then transferred to [Austin Hospital](/source/Austin_Hospital) before moving to her own home in [Thornbury](/source/Thornbury%2C_Victoria), which was managed by the Yooralla Ventilator Accommodation Support Service.

A campaigner for the rights of people confined to [ventilators](/source/ventilators),<ref name=pl /> Middleton was also a fan of the [Carlton Football Club](/source/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](/source/Thornbury%2C_Victoria), on 29 October 2009, aged 83.

== References ==
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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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [June Middleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Middleton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Middleton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.