Anna Haining Bates (née Swan; August 6, 1846 – August 5, 1888) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

woman notable for her great stature of . She was one of the tallest women who ever lived. Her parents were of average height and were

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrants.

Early life

Anna Swan was born at Mill Brook, New Annan,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. At birth she weighed . She was the third of 13 children, all of the others being around average height. From birth she grew very rapidly. Anna's mother recalled that her daughter's growth rate was "Phenomenal".San Francisco Chronicle - 27 Aug 1888 - Page 5 On her fourth birthday she was tall and weighed . On her 6th birthday she was measured at tall, an inch or two (2.5–5 cm) shorter than her mother. On her 10th birthday she measured tall and weighed at . On her 11th birthday, she was measured at tall.San Francisco Chronicle - August 27, 1888 - Page 5. On her 15th birthday Swan was measured at tall. She reached her full height three years later. Her feet were long. Swan excelled at

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and was considered to be very intelligent. She also excelled at her studies of acting, piano and voice. On one occasion she played

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

Circus career

When she was 17, Swan started working with American showman

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...

. She lived in

Barnum's American Museum Barnum's American Museum was a dime museum located at the corner of Broadway, Park Row, and Ann Street in what is now the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P. T. Bar ...

in New York City, and on July 13, 1865 she nearly burned to death when the museum was destroyed by fire. The stairs were in flames and she was too large to escape through a window. At the time she weighed 384 lb. (159 kg). Her highest recorded weight was 418 lb or just under 30

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s. She got help and escaped safely. The marriage of Captain Martin van Buren to Anna Swan

Swan later toured the western United States, followed by Europe where she appeared before

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. When visiting a circus in Halifax with which Martin Van Buren Bates—another enormously tall person known as the "Kentucky Giant"—was travelling, Swan was spotted by the promoter and hired on the spot. The giant couple became a touring sensation and eventually fell in love; they married on June 17, 1871, in

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

in London. Queen Victoria gave Anna a satin gown and diamond ring, and gave Martin an engraved watch.

Children

Bates conceived two children with Martin. The first was a girl born on May 19, 1872; she weighed and died at birth. While touring in the summer of 1878, Anna was pregnant for the second time. The boy was born on January 18, 1879, and survived only 11 hours. Named just "Babe" he was said by his father to have had the appearance of a perfect 6-month-old. He was the largest newborn ever recorded, at and 28 inches tall (c. 72 cm); each of his feet was long. He was posthumously awarded a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as the heaviest new-born baby and the longest.. Guinness World Records. "Anna Bates... gave birth to a boy weighing and measuring at her home in Seville, Ohio, on January 19, 1879."

Later life

The Bateses retired to

Seville, Ohio Seville is a village in Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,335 at the 2020 census. History Seville was platted in 1828. It was named after Seville, in Spain. A post office was established in Seville in 1830. Geography A ...

, where they built a mansion with high ceilings and door frames. The main part of the house had ceilings, while the doors were extra wide and were tall. The back part of the house was built an average size for servants and guests. They resumed touring with the W. W. Cole Circus in the summer of 1879, and again in the spring of 1880, which was her final ever tour. After that, Bates spent her remaining years quietly on the farm that she and her husband owned. She had joined the local

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

in 1877 and attended services with her husband until shortly before her death.

Death

Anna Bates died suddenly and unexpectedly of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

in her sleep at her home on August 5, 1888, one day before her 42nd birthday. The cause of her height was never discovered in her lifetime.

References

External links

The Anna Swan Digital Collection

( 2009-10-25)
A photograph of Swan

An extensive historical page
on Bates and her husband * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Anna Haining 1846 births 1888 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent World record holders People from Seville, Ohio People from Colchester County People with gigantism Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia people Sideshow performers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)