Charles Byrne was born in Littlebridge, near Derry. He had a tumour on his pituitary gland which stimulated unnatural growth and affected his intelligence. By the time he was twenty-one years old he was over seven feet tall. He travelled to London, where he formed a partnership with Count Joseph Borulwaski, who was only three feet tall, and together they gave exhibitions throughout the country. It was said that John Hunter, the surgeon, offered Byrne a sum of money for his body, which he wished to place in his museum, but Byrne refused. A very heavy drinker, Byrne died at the age of twenty-two, of tuberculosis, and it is said that Hunter procured his body and mounted it in a glass case. It is now in the College of Surgeons in London.

Born:	1761
Died:	1 June 1783