- Who
- "Babe", Anna Bates
- What
- 71.12 centimetre(s)
- Where
- United States (Seville)
- When
Giantess Anna Bates (née Swan) (Canada, b. 6 August 1846; d. 5 August 1888), who measured 241.3 cm (7 ft 11 in), gave birth to a boy measuring 71.12 cm (28 in) at her home in Seville, Ohio, USA, on 19 January 1879.
Weighing 9.98 kg (22 lb), it was also the heaviest birth ever recorded.
The baby, who was not officially named but just referred to as "Babe", died 11 hours later.
The father of the child, Martin van Buren Bates (USA, 1837–1919), wrote: “He was 28” tall, weighed 22 lbs and was perfect in every respect. He looked at birth like an ordinary child of six months”.
Anna Haining Swan was born on 6 August 1846 at the Millbrook section of the community of New Annan, near the village of Tatamagouche, in the county of Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada, reportedly weighing 18 lb, but more likely 13 to 15 lb.
Fully grown, she reportedly reached 7 ft 11 in (241.3 cm); her husband, Martin Van Buren Bates, was born on 9 November 1837 and was reported to reach 7 ft 11 in, although was probably more likely 7 ft 9 in. They married at St Martins-in-the-Field in London on 17 June 1871.
With a combined height of 477.52 cm (15 ft 8 in), they are the tallest married couple ever.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
