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Inside The Astonishing Life Of Angus MacAskill, The Tallest ‘Natural Giant’ To Ever Live
Wikimedia CommonsAngus MacAskill, pictured standing next to a person of average height.
In the 19th century, P.T. Barnum was well known for finding the tallest, smallest, oldest, youngest, and most interesting people the world had ever seen, but even he was surprised by Angus MacAskill.
Standing 7 feet, 9 inches tall, Angus MacAskill attracted attention wherever he went. His size alone was astounding, but what made his height even more incredible was that it was entirely natural. Unlike other notably tall men, like Andre the Giant or Robert Wadlow, Angus MacAskill didn’t suffer from gigantism or an unusual amount of growth hormones. He was entirely proportional, and aside from his size, he was entirely average.
Well — not entirely. Along with his startling height, MacAskill boasted enormous strength. It’s no wonder why he captured the world’s attention.
Angus MacAskill’s Rise To Fame
Angus MacAskill was born in 1825 in Scotland. When he was still a boy, his family moved to Nova Scotia in Canada. Though he had average-sized parents, he began to grow quickly after he reached adolescence, and before long, his clothes and furniture had to be specially made for his size.
In his youth, MacAskill was reportedly seen lifting a 2,800-pound ship anchor to chest height, setting a 40-foot mast on a schooner deck, and carrying two 350-pound barrels at a time. At one point, he purportedly even lifted a full-grown horse over a four-foot fence.
When he was just 14 years old, he allegedly got into an altercation with a grown man and delivered a punch to his jaw that sent the man flying. As the story goes, the blow rendered the man unconscious for so long that some worried he had died.
Aside from that incident, however, MacAskill wasn’t usually seen as someone to be feared. Most who knew him said that he was soft-spoken with a “musical” voice, he had kind, deep blue eyes, and he generally had a mild-mannered attitude. To his neighbors and friends on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, he was affectionately known as Gille Mór (“Big Boy”).
Eventually, P.T. Barnum heard about Angus MacAskill. Since MacAskill was believed to be one of the tallest people ever and one of the strongest people of all time, Barnum immediately thought that he’d be a wonderful addition to his circus. So in 1849, when MacAskill was 24 years old, Barnum offered him a place in his traveling show.
Public DomainAngus MacAskill and General Tom Thumb, another performer who traveled with P.T. Barnum.
For the next several years, MacAskill toured North America and Europe with Barnum’s circus, attracting enthusiastic crowds at his performances. Reportedly, MacAskill eventually got the chance to travel to places like Asia and the West Indies.
Throughout his travels, MacAskill gained fame for standing alongside Barnum’s smallest performer, a man known as General Tom Thumb, who stood just 3 feet, 4 inches tall. When standing next to each other, the two men’s extreme heights were even more pronounced. One popular addition to their performance involved General Tom Thumb dancing on the palm of MacAskill’s hand.
Of course, MacAskill also became renowned at his performances for his strength, and some even claimed that he was as strong as six typical men.
At the height of his performance career, Queen Victoria heard about MacAskill’s impressive size and strength and reportedly invited him to come perform for her at Windsor Castle. He agreed, and he ultimately delighted the queen with his performance. In thanks, she purportedly presented him with two gold rings to take with him on his travels.
What Happened To Angus MacAskill After His Time In Show Business?
After Angus MacAskill’s show business career was over (after all, how does one find another audience that could compete with Queen Victoria herself?), he decided to retire back to Nova Scotia with his small fortune.
There, he purchased a small gristmill and a general store, which quickly became a local favorite. One of his most popular products was tea, which he would sell to customers by the pound or by the fistful. A fistful of his, of course, was equal to several pounds of tea.
In the summer of 1863, during a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to procure more items for his store, Angus MacAskill suddenly fell seriously ill. After he was taken to his parents’ home, where his childhood bed had been re-fitted to accommodate his height, his health declined further over the course of about a week. Then, he died on August 8, 1863, from what doctors referred to as “brain fever.” He was only 37 or 38 years old.
Wikimedia CommonsAngus MacAskill’s “Giant’s Grave,” which is located on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
Following MacAskill’s death, the Halifax Acadian Recorder memorialized him as a “well-known giant” who “was by far the tallest man in Nova Scotia, perhaps in British America.” The paper also noted his kind nature and popularity with locals, saying that “his mild and gentle manner endeared him to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance.”
In 1881, he was posthumously given the Guinness World Record for being the tallest non-pathological giant in recorded history, meaning the tallest giant whose size was entirely natural and had nothing to do with gigantism or any other health conditions. Notably, he was also recognized for having the largest chest measurements of any non-obese man in world history.
Today, a grave marker worthy of his massive size stands at his final resting place — locally known as the “Giant’s Grave” — on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
Several historic items from Angus MacAskill’s home, including an oversized bed frame, are also on display at a local museum in the area, serving as a lasting reminder of the man Queen Victoria purportedly called “the tallest, stoutest, and strongest man to ever enter the palace!”
After learning about Angus MacAskill, history’s tallest “true giant,” check out these wild Andre the Giant drinking stories, from $40,000 bar tabs to consuming 156 beers in one sitting. Then, read about 10 of the shortest people in history — and the big impact they had on the world.
The post Inside The Astonishing Life Of Angus MacAskill, The Tallest ‘Natural Giant’ To Ever Live appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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