Patrick Cotter O'Brien

Patrick Cotter O'Brien (19 January 1760 – 8 September 1806) was the second of only 23 people in medical history to stand at a verified height of 8 feet (2.44 m).

His real name was Patrick Cotter and he adopted O'Brien as his stage name in the sideshow circus, claiming descent from the legendarily gigantic Brian Boru.

[2] No hearse could be found to accommodate his eight-foot-four-inch (254 cm) casket encased in lead, and his remains were borne to the grave by relays of fourteen men.

In his will, Cotter left £2,000 to his mother and a request that his body be entombed within twelve feet (370 cm) of solid rock (to prevent exhumation for scientific or medical research).

[3] His grave remained undisturbed for just short of 100 years until March 1906 when workmen accidentally discovered his coffin whilst laying drains.