Anna Haining Bates and her husband Martin Van Buren Bates both stood almost eight feet tall and spent most of their adult lives performing in sideshows.
History and Art Collection / Alamy Stock PhotoAnna Haining Bates, photographed on August 5, 1888.
Anna Haining Bates stood out from an early age. She weighed 13 pounds at birth and stood 6 feet, 1 inch by the age of 10. At 16, she accepted a contract to work as a sideshow attraction at showman P.T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. And there, at seven feet, 11 inches, Anna was billed as the “tallest woman in the world.”
But though Anna was not the tallest woman to ever live — that record belongs to Zeng Jinlian — she was one of the tallest women to ever live. And, thanks to her marriage with the 7 foot, nine inch tall Martin Van Buren Bates, Anna also made up one half of the tallest married couple ever.
However, Anna Haining Bates also experienced considerable tragedy in her life, from the loss of her children, to her own premature death at 41.
This is her story.
The Early Life Of The ‘Infant Giantess’
The History Collection / Alamy Stock PhotoAnna Bates with her parents.
Anna Haining Bates (née Swan) was born on August 6, 1846, in Nova Scotia, Canada to Alexander Swan and Ann Graham. Though she was one of 13 children, Anna stood out for her hefty birth weight: a whopping 13 pounds. (Some source say she was even heavier, while others claim that Anna was a normal size baby — who simply grew quickly).
Indeed, Anna’s parents suspected early on that their daughter was far from ordinary. Though the rest of the family stayed at a normal height and weight, Anna was 4 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed over 100 pounds by the age of five. By the age of 10, she was 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 203 pounds.
Her impressive stature earned her the nickname the “Infant Giantess.” But Anna did not let her size hold her back from pursuing her interests.
University of TorontoAnna Haining Bates standing next to a couple.
Anna was reportedly an excellent student who enjoyed music, acting, and reading. Her extroverted nature led to widespread news stories about her record-breaking height, and she soon captured the attention of P.T. Barnum, the operator of the American Museum in New York, and the future owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
At 16, Anna traveled to New York City to meet with Barnum’s representatives. They offered her $1,000 a month to exhibit herself at the American Museum — and also offered to pay for a private tutor. Excited at the prospect of furthering her education and earning a living, Anna Haining Bates accepted the deal and became part of P.T. Barnum’s entertainment empire.
Anna Haining Bates’ Growing Fame As The ‘Tallest Woman Ever’
At 17 years old, Anna Haining Bates was living, working, and receiving an education in New York City at Barnum’s American Museum.
Barnum advertised Anna as the tallest woman in the world and dressed her in an elegant costume which was reportedly made from 100 yards of satin and 50 yards of lace. Barnum also claimed that Anna was 8 feet, 1 inch tall (though records indicate she was likely never taller than 7 feet, 11 inches).
Barnum may have exaggerated Anna’s height, but he seemed to have had genuine affection for her. He once wrote that she was “an intelligent and by no means ill-looking girl, and during the long period while she was in my employ she was visited by thousands of persons,” according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
But Anna’s life at the American Museum was not without drama. In one scary incident on July 13, 1865, Bates almost died when a fire broke out at the museum — which ultimately burned the institution to the ground. Employees had to smash the wall around a window, pull her out, and lower her to the ground by block and tackle with 18 men manning the rope.
Public DomainThe American Museum following the 1865 fire.
Though Anna briefly returned to exhibit herself at Barnum’s new museum (which was also eventually destroyed in a fire) she ultimately decided to leave the museum and go on tour across the United States and Europe.
It proved to be a fateful decision
Becoming Part Of The Tallest Married Couple Ever
While traveling via ship across the Atlantic, Anna met someone she could see eye-to-eye with: Martin Van Buren Bates, who was almost Anna’s height at 7 feet, nine inches. Originally from Kentucky, and weighing 470 pounds, Martin had also displayed his impressive stature in sideshows.
Public DomainLike his future wife, Martin Van Buren Bates stood over seven feet tall — and had made a living through his jaw-dropping height.
The two bonded and soon fell in love. After two years of dating, they married on June 17, 1871, in St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. To celebrate the newly married couple, Queen Victoria purportedly gave a gown and a ring to Anna and an engraved watch to Martin.
“A man may get used to being eight feet high,” a Daily Telegraph article exclaimed around the time of their wedding. “But to be eight feet high and to be stared at by a devout congregation of idlers on the occasion of marrying a lady who is eight feet high also is a trying conjunction of matters. However, Captain Bates got through his difficulties tolerably well.”
Together, the couple toured Europe for 14 months and advertised themselves as “the largest married couple in the world.”
Wellcome / CC BY 4.0An illustration of Martin Van Buren Bates and Anna Haining Bates.
Indeed, Anna Haining Bates and Martin Van Buren Bates are still considered the tallest married couple ever recorded. But the record-holding couple would soon face a number of tragedies.
The Difficult Later Life Of Anna Haining Bates
Library and Archives CanadaAnna Haining Bates with Martin Van Buren Bates and a standard-sized man.
Upon returning to the United States, Anna Haining Bates and Martin Van Buren Bates took up residence at a farm near Seville, Ohio. The couple purchased Percheron horses and shorthorn cattle and built a house with 14-foot ceilings and 8-foot-tall doors. To accommodate their unusual sizes, the couple also filled their home with custom-sized furniture.
But their peaceful existence was punctured by personal loss. Before returning to the United States, Anna and Martin had had a baby girl who died at birth (she was 18 pounds). In 1878, Anna got pregnant again and this time gave birth to a boy in Seville. At first, there was plenty to celebrate. The baby, a boy, was both the heaviest and longest baby ever born (at 22 pounds and 28 inches long, he holds the Guinness World Record to this day). But sadly, the baby died only 11 hours after birth.
In his autobiography, Martin Van Buren Bates reflected on the loss of his son, writing: “While we have during these years been blessed with many things, affliction again visited us in the loss of a boy, born on the 15th day of January 1879. He was 28 inches tall and weighed twenty-three pounds and was perfect in every respect.”
Anna Haining Bates maintained a quiet life at her home in Seville in the years that followed, though she and her husband briefly returned to sideshow life and toured with the W. W. Cole Circus between 1879 and 1889. She was still young, just in her early 40s, and they seemed to have many years together to come. But sadly, Anna would die prematurely in 1888.
Anna Haining Bates’ Death At The Age Of 41
On August 5, 1888 — the day before her 42nd birthday — Anna Haining Bates died in her sleep. Her cause of death was was heart failure stemming from tuberculosis and thyroid issues.
Find A GraveThe grave marker for the Bates family.
Following Anna’s death, Martin Van Buren Bates sold their home. He gave away some of her personal items to her family members, including jewelry and clothing. Martin also ordered a statue of a Greek goddess for her gravesite from Europe to commemorate her life.
He would eventually remarry and lived a relatively quiet life into his old age. But when Martin Van Buren Bates died in 1919 at 81 years old, he requested to be buried alongside his first wife and son.
Today, Anna Haining Bates casts a large legacy. Though she was not the tallest woman ever recorded, she was one of the tallest women to ever live. What’s more, she was also part of the tallest married couple ever recorded, and gave birth to the heaviest baby ever born. Though she lived to be just 41, she certainly left a hefty mark on the world.
After reading about Anna Haining Bates, dive into the stories of the 11 tallest people in history. Then, read about 11 of the oldest people to ever live.
