Love born in a circus: They were the tallest spouses in history.
If you think that Mother Nature has missed you by centimeters, you may be comforted by the following fact: being a "walking skyscraper" is a much bigger problem. That this is so is testified by the example of the highest spouses of all time - except with the mockery of the environment, the couple lost what they cared about the most due to their gigantic growth, the consequences of a hormonal disorder.
Anna Haining Swan (1846 - 1888) grew up in Canada, as the third of thirteen children of Scottish immigrants. Her parents were of average height, just like her siblings: that she would surpass the rest of the family well, it became clear when she was a little girl. She weighed almost seven and a half kilograms when she was born, and by her sixth birthday she was as tall as her mother - 158 centimeters. While her relatives held her like a drop of water in the palm of their hand, calling her their "big baby", problems arose when she went to school. She grew as if from water, and as a fifteen-year-old she had to bend down to talk to her professors: it was recorded that she was then a meter and ten centimeters tall, and her feet were 36 centimeters long. Her peers teased her mercilessly, of course, only verbally - she was physically stronger than even the biggest young man of her age!
At first she suffered because of it, spending most of her time in the arms of her family, but over time a fighting spirit awoke in her. She began to joke at the expense of her stature, after which she was gradually accepted in society. The teachers loved her too. Extremely intelligent and diligent, she was one of the best students in the school, and in addition she showed a gift for drawing, writing compositions, playing the piano and singing. She also participated in a drama group: as an eighteen-year-old, she starred in a school play - Lady Macbeth! It had to be an impressive sight, do we know that she then grew to a final height of 2.41 m and weighed about 154 kilograms!
Her life changed fundamentally in 1870, when she visited a circus with a friend. The promoter of young artists, amazed by her dimensions, offered her a well-paid job on the spot. Wanting to help a large family, which has always struggled with finances, she happily agreed. On the same day, she was introduced to a future collaborator, the giant Martin Van Buren (1837-1919). The namesake of the eighth American president, a 2.34 m tall and 170 kg heavy giant who performed in the circus under the stage name "Giant from Kentucky", was impressed by the huge girl with a warm smile. "Well, you're taller than me!" He exclaimed.
They began to perform as the "tallest couple in the world", and soon became a couple in private life. A year after they met, they sailed into the port of marriage. Their wedding, held in London, attracted hundreds of curious people. The newlyweds received a valuable wedding gift from Queen Victoria - huge watches decorated with diamonds, and the lovely Anna explained to the gathered crowd that so much material was used to sew her wedding dress that it could be used "for the whole tent settlement".
In Martin, a veteran of the American Civil War who worked as a teacher before his circus career, a young woman found life support. From the money earned on tours across America and Europe, the couple bought a property of about sixty acres, and the skilful giant made most of the furniture for the house himself from wood. The building in which they lived was divided into two parts: one was adapted to the dimensions of the spouses (the ceilings, for example, were 4.3 meters high!), And the other to those of visitors, relatives and servants.
In 1872, Anna gave birth to an 8.16 kilogram girl. Unfortunately, the little one was born dead. Six years later, she gave birth to a 10.7 kilogram heavy and 75 centimeter long son. The tragedy was repeated - the boy, who posthumously entered the "Guinness Book of Records", lived only eleven hours. Realizing that, with a combination of their genes, they represent a time bomb, the grieving spouses make a difficult decision: they will no longer try to have children.
They found solace on their farm, raising thoroughbred horses and arranging numerous parties for friends, and they performed in the circus until 1880, when they both retired. He will not enjoy his retirement days for long. In 1888, Anna died suddenly in her sleep, from a heart attack. She was buried on the estate where she lived with her husband, and an inconsolable widower adorned her grave with a statue depicting her faithfully.
Although in his second marriage, with a woman of normal height Annette LaVonne Weatherby, he found solace, he brought flowers to the grave to the adored Anne every year. When he died in 199, of kidney failure, the widow respected his last wish and had him buried next to his first wife.
