Charles Byrne (giant)

Charles O'Brien
Byrne in a John Kay etching (1784), alongside the Brothers Knipe, and Andrew Bell, Baillie Kid, James Burnett ("Lord Monboddo") and William Richardson
Born1761
Died1 June 1783(1783-06-01) (aged 21–22)
London, England, Great Britain
Resting placeLondon, England, United Kingdom
The skeleton of the 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) tall Byrne displayed at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London

Charles Byrne (probable real name: Charles O'Brien;[1][2] 1761 – 1 June 1783), or "The Irish Giant", was a man regarded as a curiosity or freak in London in the 1780s for his large stature. Byrne's exact height is of some conjecture. Some accounts refer to him as being 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) to 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) tall, but skeletal evidence places him at just over 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m).[citation needed]

His skeleton was on display at the Hunterian Museum in London from 1799 until it was removed from public display in 2023.[3]

  1. ^ "The Irish Giant, my uncle and Hilary Mantel". BBC News. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Skeleton of 'Irish Giant' removed from public display". RTÉ. 11 January 2023.
  3. ^ Topping, Alexandra (14 January 2023). "'He did not want this': one man's two-decade quest to let the 'Irish Giant' rest in peace". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.