History’s Most Tragic Giant D
[Music] in 1879 Anna haning Bates went into labor standing almost 8 ft it’s no wonder her baby was also a shocking size when her water broke she lost six gallons of fluid that’s when the doctor came to a chilling realization [Music] some people in history are larger than life and in the case of Anna haning Bates also just very large in fact she was one of the tallest people who ever [Music] lived it’s 1846 in Nova Scotia an gram and Alexander Swan two immigrants from Scotland have just welcomed their third
child a Bab baby girl but this was no regular baby some sources suggest that the newborn weighed £ 13 by the age of four she was over 4T tall and weighed more than 90 and by the time she reached the age of 15 she was 7t tall and still growing although it was never a officially diagnosed it was later determined that Anna was born with gigantism which occurs from a tumor in the pituitary gland which in turn releases excessive amounts of growth hormone individuals who live with gigantism grow very rapidly and typically have a significantly shorter lifespan but though Anna had been dealt a difficult hand fate nonetheless had an
adventurous life in store for her Anna’s family was Sy pathetic to her unique condition when she outgrew her elementary school desk her father built a larger one by hand to accommodate her needs he also built her an extra large bed to ensure that she stayed just as comfortable as her 12 siblings unfortunately he couldn’t protect her from the outside world as news spread of this giant little girl people in Nova Scotia began to visit her her family’s Farm in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her local newspapers began to publish stories which only added to the increased interest one paper even referred to her as an infant giantess so from an early age Anna became a curiosity and her family saw an opportunity Anna’s family needed some
financial support as Farmers they were certainly no strangers to putting their other children to work and Anna was no [Music] exception since she kept growing she frequently required new clothing and shoes that were especially expensive to make more money the family made the decision to put Anna to work by touring around local fairs as an attraction despite accusations that her family exploited her most historians agree that they genuinely cared and ensured that she was safe at all [Music] times Anna wasn’t always touring in her youth she often cared for her younger siblings and tried to occupy her time with reading and staying focused on other artistic interests so although her experience wasn’t common she did her best to have a normal childhood she also harbored a very normal dream but sadly
it was doomed from the beginning Anna really wanted to be a teacher but while staying with her aunt and attending school she encountered new difficulties she found the classrooms physically constricting because of her size and of course people often gawked at her and made her feel especially uncomfortable this experience ended her teaching aspirations but thankfully greater things were in store in 1862 she relocated to America and took a job in the PT Barnum Museum as the Nova scotian giantes there she received tutoring and learned how to sing and play piano the museum offered her jawdropping opportunities many of which were unheard of at the time she received $23 a week in Gold the
equivalent of $500 today she was also provided a chaperone and given the ability to earn earn extra income from pictures sold of her likeness remarkably for the time her contract allowed her to keep the rights to those images during her tenure at the Museum Anna performed characters like lady McBeth and interacted with audiences in Q&A formats to detail her experiences as one of the tallest women known to man this experience was largely positive for her as she got to control her narrative instead of merely being a [Music] freak it’s 1865 and Barnum’s museum is a blaze in one of the most spectacular fires New York has ever seen and Anna is in the midst of it the stairwell is a blaze and Anna who
weighs nearly 400 is far too large to fit through a window somehow with the help of 18 people who carried her she managed to escape heroically she had helped others escape before her and in doing so almost doomed herself by most accounts Anna was intelligent and kind as she met people on tours who were also physically different she became fast friends and formed bonds with them very deeply in fact her Magnetic Personality allowed her to become friends with one of the most famous Royals of the time Anna became no stranger to traveling the globe she made the rounds all over Europe and the United States in 1863 she even befriended Queen Victoria while touring as an attraction in Europe and the two became unlikely
[Music] friends Anna attracted many sutors it said that she received numerous proposals but because of her career as a performer she chose to decline those offers it was difficult for her to ascertain whether someone was being genuine or just wanted her money but then she met a man who made her believe in true love no not him the big guy yeah while at a circus in Halifax Anna couldn’t help but spot Martin Van buin baits a man who was also pushing 8 ft tall naturally Martin spotted Anna too and so did a promoter which led to a few interesting developments in both her career and her love life Anna married Martin in 1871 in London after the couple fell madly in love and began touring together in the
circus in 1861 after Queen Victoria lost her husband Prince Albert she fell into a deep state of depression and grieved for the rest of her life but her personal loss didn’t diminish her appreciation for other people’s love stories in 1871 when word spread that Anna had found love the queen decided to do something special for her she gifted her a bridal gown that was made of a 100 m of satin and 50 m of lace and embroidered orange blossoms rumor has it that Queen Victoria arranged for the bates’s wedding to take place at the church of St Martin in the fields Anna Bates returned to Buckingham Palace after receiving an invitation from the queen to visit and received a diamond ring the bridegroom also received a gold watch together the couple later went on to meet with the queen at least twice [Music]
more a year after marrying Anna and her new husband purchased a farm in Ohio and built a house that could accommodate their lofty statures the main part of the structure had unique specifications like tall ceilings and wider doorways with all of the furniture being custom built but the couple decided to ensure that the back part of their home was of average size in order to suit the needs of both servants and guests Anna was an animal lover she disapproved of horse racing and on her Farm she made it a point to take in animals that had retired from the circus in 1872 still Newly Weds Anna and her husband conceived their first child but it ended in [Music] tragedy on May 19th a baby girl weighing £18 died at Birth 6 years later Anna became pregnant
with a son on January 18th 1879 her water broke and she reportedly lost six gallons of fluid she was in for an extremely rough labor as the hours passed P the doctor came to a disturbing realization Anna’s baby was so big the doctor couldn’t fit his forceps around its head to Usher the child into the world they placed a bandage around its neck and pulled he was a whopping 23 and Martin later wrote he looked at Birth like an ordinary child of 6 months but tragically this was another doomed birth after just 11 hours of Life her her baby boy had died posum usly he received a Guinness World Record for being the largest newborn ever recorded the loss of the second child took an incredible toll on Anna she fell into a deep depression and no longer wanted to
tour she withdrew from social life to cope with her pain although she later attempted to tour with the circus again she ultimately had to withdraw [Music] Anna and her husband decided to live a quieter existence during the late 1870s by the spring of 1880 Anna spent her time solely on the farm and she and Martin became more heavily involved with the Baptist Church in 1888 after having struggled with tuberculosis and thyroid issues Anna died from heart failure during her sleep just one day before her 42nd birthday after her death Martin erected a monument on her grave to honor her a year later he remarried and moved out of their Ohio home so that his average
sized second wife could be more comfortable however when Martin died in 1919 he was buried next to Anna and their baby boy to this day sevel Ohio continues to remember Anna and her husband there’s an exhibit dedicated to the couple with artifacts and information about their life together in Halifax there’s also a museum dedicated specifically to the giantess and some of her descendants are still involved in curating and guiding tours for visitors throughout her life Anna was often presented and promoted as being more than 8 ft tall in reality she stopped growing before getting quite that large but she certainly came close at 7′ 11 in to further sensationalize the attraction it shows the exaggeration of her height often became necessary and lingered in newspapers despite the
inaccuracy records obtained from the British Library show posters from the days when Anna was touring she was advertised as the largest woman in the world and received top billing over Chang and in the original siamese twins who were massive stars in London at the Time Anna’s placement above them as headliner continues to serve as a reminder that she attracted crowds as large as she lived thanks for watching history expose if you love uncovering the best stories in history hit like And subscribe to keep exploring with us don’t forget to visit our main page fact Tate for more incredible facts about everything h
