Charles Byrne (giant)

Charles Byrne, (* 1761 in Little Bridge in Derry in Ireland, † 1783 in London ) was a großwüchsiger man who introduced himself by the name of Charles O'Brien in London on display. He became known as " The Irish Giant".

Life and death

In 1782, at age 21, Byrne came to London. According to the company about two and a half feet tall, he was all the rage. He entered Cox's on Museum, in the 18th century had a similar fame as later PT Barnum American Museum. Right in the neighborhood he moved into an elegant apartment. However, his show career did not last long, for he died a year later, reportedly due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Afterlife

Anatomists wanted so vehemently to gain possession of the corpse that the London newspapers cartoons published about it. Although Byrne had determined to leave his body after his death, in no case the anatomist - he had wanted a burial at sea - got his skeleton in the collection of the surgeon's John Hunter. To date it is issued in the Royal College of Surgeons in London. It shows that Byrne was 231 cm tall and not 254 as he had claimed. As a result, there were several giants that O'Brien claimed and allegedly came from Ireland; only one, Patrick Cotter (1760-1806), it was possible to be as famous as his role model.