he affirms was 8 feet 6 inches
tall. Chang, the "Chinese Giant," whose smiling face is familiar to
nearly all the modern world, was said to be 8 feet tall. In 1865, at
the age of nineteen, he measured 7 feet 8 inches. At Hawick, Scotland,
in 1870, there was an Irishman 7 feet 8 inches in height, 52 inches
around the chest, and who weighed 22 stone. Figure 159 shows an
American giantess known as "Leah, the Giantess." At the age of nineteen
she was 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.

On June 17, 1871, there were married at Saint-Martins-in-the-Field in
London Captain Martin Van Buren Bates of Kentucky and Miss Anna Swann
of Nova Scotia, two celebrated exhibitionists, both of whom were over 7
feet. Captain Bates, familiarly known as the "Kentucky Giant," years
ago was a familiar figure in many Northern cities, where he exhibited
himself in company with his wife, the combined height of the two being
greater than that of any couple known to history. Captain Bates was
born in Whitesburg, Letcher County, Ky., on November 9, 1845. He
enlisted in the Southern army in 1861, and though only sixteen years
old was admitted to the service because of his size. At the close of
the war Captain Bates had attained his great height of 7 feet 2 1/2
inches. His body was well proportioned and his weight increased until
it reached 450 pounds. He traveled as a curiosity from 1866 to 1880,
being connected with various amusement organizations. He visited nearly
all the large cities and towns in the United States, Canada, Great
Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Russia.
While in England in 1871 the Captain met Miss Anna H. Swann, known as
the "Nova Scotia Giantess," who was two years the junior of her giant
lover. Miss Swann was justly proud of her height, 7 feet 5 1/2 inches.
The two were married soon afterward. Their combined height of 14 feet
8 inches marked them as the tallest married couple known to mankind.

Captain Bates' parents were of medium size. His father, a native of
Virginia, was 5 feet 10 inches high and weighed 160 pounds. His mother
was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds. The height of the
father of Mrs. Anna Swann Bates was 6 feet and her mother was 5 feet
and 2 inches high, weighing but 100 pounds.

A recent newspaper dispatch says: "Captain M. V. Bates, whose
remarkable height at one time attracted the attention of the world, has
recently retired from his conspicuous position and