The story of a married couple of circus giants (11 photos)

At the end of the 19th century, there were two people in the world who were over 2.40 meters tall. At that time, such wonders lived mainly in circuses, where, in fact, they met. They were lucky to meet each other.





With such an unusual appearance, it is quite difficult to meet your soulmate. But Anna and Martin, having seen each other, fell in love and their life cannot be called cloudless. The couple were big kind people and always treated others with respect and love.

Anna Swan



In 1846, the mother of the future Anna suffered greatly when her third child was born. After the birth, which was more like torture, it became clear why - the girl, at birth, weighed a little more than seven kilograms! In those years, when medicine was practically in its infancy, both mother and daughter managed to survive. Anna's mother subsequently had more children. Her parents, by the way, were completely ordinary Scottish settlers, who suddenly began to grow a real giantess.

At the age of 4, Anna was already 137 cm tall, and at the age of six - 157 cm, equaling her mother's height. At the age of 11, the girl was already 188 cm tall and weighed 96 kg. At the age of fifteen, Anna's height reached 2 meters and 10 cm and she continued to grow. Her physique kept up with her height and her build was harmonious. Anna was happy to learn everything new, and when at the age of 16, she was noticed by the management of the Taylor Barnaum Circus and offered a job, the girl immediately agreed. A salary of as much as a thousand dollars, an exciting circus life, a chance to see the world... Who would refuse? Anna used the money wisely: she invested it in acting and vocal classes, and also learned to play the piano.

"Baby" Anna grew to 243 cm.





Educated and intelligent Anna felt like a fish in water in the arena. She had no complexes about her outstanding height and the public liked her: she measured her own waist, and then invited the girls from the audience to do the same. Of course, her measurements were three times larger than any others, which caused good laughter and flattered the spectators.



Two and a half meters in height once almost killed Anna. There was a fire in the circus and when everyone was getting out through the window, the girl couldn't even get through halfway. Help arrived at the very last moment, when Anna already thought she would burn alive.

Luckily, the mast crane was nearby and people partially dismantled the wall of the third floor and lowered the artist to the ground. But to hold the rope, it took the strength of 18 healthy men. After what she had experienced, Anna went to her parents to recover a little, but it is impossible to live long without the circus, so she soon returned to work and went on tour. Where she met her great love.

Martin Bates



Martin's mother didn't have to suffer so much when he was born - he was a completely ordinary boy until he was seven. But after that, he started growing at crazy rates. At the age of 14, Martin was already 210 cm tall and weighed 140 kg! Opinions about his final height varied, but one thing is certain - from 232 cm to 241 cm. Yes, he was a little shorter than his future wife, which embarrassed Martin a little.

The young man's life was completely ordinary: school, and then the army. After his service, Martin, who had previously wanted to become a teacher, decided not to return to this job and was accidentally noticed by a circus agent. Yes, it was Barnaum's circus, the same one where Anna worked. Martin believed that he would earn a lot of money in the circus, but along with the money, he found love there.

"Giants of Love"



Anna and Martin began performing together. At first, they portrayed a couple in love, but then their feelings became real. Only six weeks passed and in 1871, in London, the couple got married and there were very persistent rumors that Queen Victoria, who adored a couple of giants, even took part in organizing the wedding.



They were even granted an audience at Buckingham Palace during their tour of Great Britain. Martin and Anna performed personally for the Queen and her retinue, and in gratitude they received valuable gifts - the young man received a gold watch, which he never took off until his death, and Anna received a beautiful diamond ring. Victoria also paid for the fabric for the wedding dress, which was very handy, because 65 yards (60 meters) of fabric is not that easy to pay for.

The priest at the ceremony was 190 cm tall and even the platform specially built for the wedding did not help him.

In other respects, Martin and Anna were an ordinary family. They bought land, built a house (taking into account their size), which had spacious rooms, custom-made furniture and high ceilings. By the way, there were also ordinary rooms with ordinary furniture, so that those who came to visit did not feel uncomfortable. Anna and Martin were sensitive and understanding people.

Tragedies



Everything was fine for the giant couple, but the white stripes in life are invariably replaced by black ones.

Anna became pregnant for the first time in 1871. In the spring of 1872, she gave birth to a beautiful large stillborn girl. The newborn weighed 8,200 kg.

Having experienced this loss, Martin and Anna decided to try again. Six years later, Anna suffered in labor for 36 hours - the child could not be extracted even with the help of forceps. All the midwives of the hospital had already crowded around the woman in labor and they had to tie a rope around the baby's neck to get him out. Yes, the boy was alive, but only for 11 hours. He was 76 cm tall and weighed 10.5 kg. One of his feet was the size of an average three-year-old's.



The parents could not recover from the grief and decided that it was not worth trying anymore. For some time, the couple simply lived in their house, trying to help each other cope with what they had experienced. Then, Martin and Anna returned to the circus arena for three years, but came to the conclusion that they no longer wanted to amuse people.

The Bates settled down on their farm and lived a very ordinary life. Anna taught lessons at the local Sunday school. The couple diligently attended church, and even made bigger and stronger benches for them there.

Finale



According to statistics, people with abnormally high growth do not live long. Anna died quite early - at the age of 42. She suffered from heart failure, and later contracted tuberculosis.

The funeral had to be postponed when a regular-sized coffin was delivered to the funeral, because the undertakers, having received the parameters, thought that the customer had made a mistake with the size. They had to wait for a new one.



Martin with his second wife and a family friend

Martin lived alone for 17 years after the death of his beloved woman. He decided to have a new relationship when he met Annette Etherby (the woman was of normal height), with whom he lived until his death. In 1919, the giant died at the age of 82.