Anna Haining Bates (née Swan; August 6, 1846 – August 5, 1888) was a Canadian woman notable for her great stature of 7 ft. She was one of the tallest women ever. Her parents were of average height and were Scottish immigrants.

Early life

Anna Swan was born at Mill Brook, New Annan, Nova Scotia. At birth she weighed 13 lbs. 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". On her fourth birthday she was 4 ft tall and weighed 94 lbs. On her 6th birthday she was measured at 5 ft tall, an inch or two (2.5–5 cm) shorter than her mother. On her 10th birthday she measured 6 ft tall and weighed at 203 lbs. On her 11th birthday, she was measured at 6 ft tall. On her 15th birthday Swan was measured at 7 ft tall. She reached her full height three years later. Her feet were 14.2 in long. Swan excelled at literature and music 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.

Circus career

When she was 17, Swan started working with American showman P. T. Barnum. She lived in Barnum's American Museum 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 stones. She got help and escaped safely. Swan later toured the western United States, followed by Europe where she appeared before Queen Victoria. 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 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 18 lbs 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 22 lb and 28 inches tall (c. 72 cm); each of his feet was 6 in long. He was posthumously awarded a Guinness World Record as the heaviest new-born baby and the longest.

Later life

The Bateses retired to Seville, Ohio, where they built a mansion with high ceilings and door frames. The main part of the house had 14 ft ceilings, while the doors were extra wide and were 8 ft 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 in 1877 and attended services with her husband until shortly before her death.

Death

Anna Bates died suddenly and unexpectedly of heart failure 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. X-rays were not discovered until 1895, so it could not be ascertained if she had a pituitary tumor.