Charles Byrne 1761–1783
BYRNE, CHARLES (1761–83), giant, was born in Littlebridge, Co Derry, of an Irish father and a Scottish mother. All his relatives were of normal height and his growth was caused by a tumour on his pituitary gland.
By August 1780, he was said to be 8ft (2.4m) tall, with his body in perfect proportion, and by the time of his death, he was said to be 8ft 4in (2.54m). He travelled throughout Britain on exhibition, forming a double act with the 3ft (0.91m) Count Joseph Borulwaski.When exhibiting in Edinburgh, he had great difficulty with the narrow stairs of the Old Town, and was obliged to crawl on all fours.
He first went to London on April 11th 1782 and exhibited himself at Spring Gardens, laying claim to the title “The Irish Giant”, and maintaining that others who had used this title were impostors.
On May 6th 1782, a journalist who visited Byrne was astounded at “the elegance, symmetry, and proportion of this wonderful phenomenon of nature”. Visitors were charged the then huge sum of half-crown (25p) and he was so successful that he moved to an elegant apartment at Charing Cross, and then to No 1 Piccadilly before finally settling in Cockspur St, Charing Cross.
He created such a sensation in London that he inspired a pantomime, “Harlequin Teague or the Giants Causeway”, produced at the Haymarket on August 18th 1782. In April 1783, he vested all his profits from exhibitions into a banknote for £700, and was greatly distressed when this was stolen from his pocket in a public house.
He died on June 1st 1783 in Cockspur St. According to popular account, his death was caused by excessive drinking brought on by the loss of his savings.
Anxious not to be dissected by anatomists, he left instructions that he be buried at sea, but his plans were in vain. A newspaper reported that surgeons “surrounded his house just as Greenland harpooners would an enormous whale” and his corpse was purchased by the famous anatomist Dr John Hunter for a large sum, said to be either £500 or £800.
Byrne’s skeleton, all 7ft 8.75inches (2.36m), is in the College of Surgeons in London, where there is also a portrait. Because he used the name OBrien, claiming descent from Brian Bórama (qv), he has often been confused with another Irish giant, Patrick Cotter (qv), who called himself OBrien to cash in on Byrnes popularity.
From the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography. See dib.ie for more details
