Anna Swan, The Giantess of Nova Scotia
Anna Haining Swan was born to Scottish immigrants in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1846. Though both her mother and father were of average height, she was a big child. Indeed, from an early age, she grew at an alarming rate. She passed the six-foot mark (1.85 metres) at the age of 10 and then kept growing for seven more years. Eventually, she reached a full height of 7 feet 5 inches (2.13 metres) at the age of 17.
Though Swan was a skilled actor and musician, as well as being academically gifted, she decided to cash in on her frame and joined with P.T. Barnum while still a teenager. However, the fire that engulfed his New York City ‘museum’ ended her time with the showman – and almost ended her life. So tall was she that she struggled to escape the flames through a window and it took a team of men to get her out of the burning building. Though she quit Barnum’s employ, she carried on in show business.
Swan’s big break actually came in 1870. She was visiting a circus in the city of Halifax, Canada. Another ‘giant’, Martin Van Buren Bates, was one of its performers. When the promoter saw Anna, he decided to form a double team. Anna and Martin toured extensively together. What’s more, they even got married in London in 1871 and started a family. With one young child to look after, Swan retired in 1880. Away from the attention of the circus sideshow, she devoted herself to looking after a small farm and became increasingly religious. Swan died in August of 1888, just a few days short of what would have been her 42nd birthday.