Bernard Coyne: A history of the world’s tallest people

Between 25 April 1918 and 20 May 1921 the tallest man in the world was Bernard Coyne of Anthon, Iowa, USA.

At the time of Frederick Kempster's death, this young man was likely close to 8 ft (243 cm) tall and would grow to a massive 248 cm (8 ft 2 in) tall. Despite his extraordinary height, Bernard’s relatively isolated upbringing and protective family meant that he was barely known outside his home state during his lifetime.

Early life

Bernard was born on 27 July 1897 and grew up on his parents' farm in the valley of the Little Sioux River in western Iowa. The nearby small town of Anthon (population 437) and the even smaller town of Oto (seven miles to the south) both claim him as a native son. His family lived closer to Oto than Anthon, but it seems Anthon was where the family spent most of their time and where the Coyne children attended school.

When interviewed in the mid-1970s, his brothers and surviving schoolfriends remembered Bernard as a friendly and likeable youth, albeit one whose size and mobility issues – which were evident from a young age – meant that he struggled to play games and keep up with his peers.

The exact progression of Bernard’s growth is not known because Anthon's public records, the local doctor's files and the archives of the Anthon Herald were all destroyed when the Little Sioux River flooded the town in 1929. Most of the documentary evidence of his life, particularly his early life, was lost.

Adjusting to life as a giant

Family anecdotes and the recollections of his friends suggest that Bernard was approaching seven feet (213 cm) tall by his mid-teens. This rapid and extreme growth caused all sorts of problems for him and his family.

His father was a practical man, and he made several bespoke items of furniture for Bernard including an extra-long bed and a giant chair for the dining table. He even made a special foot-rest which was bolted to the running board of the family's Ford Model T, allowing Bernard to sit sideways in the back of the car with his legs sticking out of one of the doors.

Bernard's mother taught him to knit so that he could make his own enormous sweaters, but all his other clothes had to be custom-ordered from stores in nearby Sioux City. His appearances there – buying a massive suit, or a pair of size 23 shoes – invariably made the local papers. These articles were always accompanied by pictures of Bernard leaning on a walking stick and towering over smiling clerks and store managers.

A taste of showbusiness

As word of the "Cherokee Giant" spread, promoters began to approach the family offering work as a touring attraction or circus performer. Most of these offers were rebuffed by his parents – who were troubled by the ethics of such exhibitions, and worried for their son's health – but Bernard did make a few public appearances in the late 1910s.

An illustration of Bernard Coyne

On 2 May 1917, for example, Bernard – billed as "the tallest man in the world" – threw the first pitch of the season for the Sioux City Indians at Mizzou Park. The pitch was received by a neighbour of the Coynes in Anthon, Verbie Admire, who at 3 ft 9 in was given the rather less impressive billing of "the shortest man in Woodbury County".

Bernard made another couple of public appearances in 1918 and 1919, including a short tour of the region and a staged visit to the military draft office (he was rejected, unsurprisingly, for medical reasons), but the shy, self-conscious Bernard was not a natural showman.

Health problems and decline

As his height surpassed eight feet (243 cm), Bernard's health problems began to mount up. During the last three years of his life, he left the house only rarely and was in significant pain. He wasn't a recluse, however – he kept in touch with his friends as well as he could, and frequently hosted visitors who came around to play cards and chat.

Bernard passed away from medical issues related to his gigantism on 20 May 1921. His funeral was the largest public event the town of Anthon had ever seen, with hundreds of people joining the 1.5-mile-long funeral procession that followed the hearse (fitted with a trailer to support the back half of Bernard's enormous 9-ft-9-in-long coffin) from St Joseph's Church to the town's cemetery.