The World’s Tallest Man

Until the day he fell ill, Henry Alexander Cooper, from Yorkshire, UK, had a pretty standard childhood. Upon his recovery, Henry went through a growth spurt that seemed to never end.  At the age of 20 years, he measured an astounding 8 feet 8 inches tall. Far too tall for most doorway entrances, he attracted attention wherever he went. His hands measured 13 inches from his wrist to the end of his third finger, and the gold ring he wore was big enough for two ordinary fingers.  His foot was 17 inches long.

Fast forward to America, we now find Henry rebranded as the “Yorkshire Giant” - an attraction at the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus. Henry travelled with the show across America, enthralling audiences with his stature and feats of strength. He once hoisted a horse to his shoulders from the ground.

While in the United States, Henry met and married a tall American lady, and they had children. In 1886, an announcement in the New York Clipper trade magazine stated that Minnie Cooper, Henry’s wife, had given birth to a baby weighing 17 pounds.

While on tour in Canada, Barnum and Bailey’s show stopped in Calgary. Henry fell ill and had to stay back from the travelling show’s next stop north of Edmonton. Henry was admitted to the Calgary General Hospital. Sadly, Henry never recovered, and passed away far from any family. He was buried in the Oddfellows’ plot of Calgary’s Union Cemetery, in Section C, Row 8, Plot 20.

Henry’s headstone is on the Alberta Family Histories Society website albertaancestors.ca.   Henry is one of several interesting individuals buried in Calgary’s cemeteries. Spend some time looking through the ‘stories’ menu on the Alberta Ancestors website, and you will discover heroes, villains, business giants, gunslingers, soldiers, a Titanic Survivor, cowboys and Henry Alexander Cooper, the World’s Tallest Man. Each headstone is a tribute to the amazing stories these people left behind. The Alberta Family Histories Society (AFHS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting family history research worldwide. Our Resource Center, located in Heritage Square on Macleod Trail, is home to over 12,000 volumes of genealogy. The Society maintains three websites and has over 200 members. Monthly meetings offer presentations by qualified researchers on a host of topics and research segments. Special Interest Groups that focus on Celtic Heritage, DNA and other specializations meet regularly. If you’re interested in learning more about your family’s history, we offer a three-part course entitled “Genealogy 101.” AFHS is also working on a Cemetery Project, and has so far digitized 343 cemeteries, catalogued 259,172 “residents,” and photographed 186,369 headstones, with an upcoming conference planned for fall 2026. The AFHS is welcome to all – we would be thrilled to help you build your family tree, write your family’s story, and explore the wonders of DNA.

Come and learn more about the World’s Tallest Man! AFHS is hosting a free presentation in collaboration with the Calgary Public Library and Calgary History Week, on the World Tallest Man and the “celebrities” in our local cemeteries at 1:00 PM on Friday, August 1, 2025. Join us at the Resource Center in Heritage Square, Suite 251S, 8500 Macleod Trail SE. Advance registration is required. Visit afhs.ab.ca, call (403) 214-1447, or email info@afhs.ab.ca to sign up and to get more information.