Daniel Cajanus

He made his living by exhibiting himself for money, appearing in many European countries and attracting the interest of scientists and laypeople, including royalty.

Jan Bondeson, a medical professional and author who has researched and written on Cajanus, suggests that his true height was around 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m),[1] supported by contemporaneous accounts in the London Annual Register.

[2] Various unconfirmed versions of his early life exist, but tax records indicate he may have left the country in 1723 or soon afterward, and Finnish and Swedish tradition recounts that he joined the bodyguard of Frederick William I of Prussia, which was composed of unusually tall soldiers and was nicknamed the Potsdam Giants.

After an unsuccessful spell as a moneylender Cajanus returned to exhibiting himself, visiting England again in 1741 and 1742 and appearing before a meeting of the Royal Society, where his height was marked against a pillar and reported to be 7 feet 4+1⁄4 inches (224.2 cm) in his shoes.

In 1745 Cajanus settled in Haarlem, where he bought the right to live in the Proveniershuis, a sheltered housing unit that provided him with accommodation, meals and medical care.

In the following years he wrote and published poetry and became a well-known figure in the town; a line marked on a pillar in the city's Grote Kerk still records his measured height during his residence there.

Cajanus died on 27 February 1749, leaving a large sum in his will to pay for a lavish funeral and a burial vault inside the Grote Kerk, with the intention of safeguarding his remains from disturbance.