Daniel Lambert, the Fat Man of Leicester
Illustration from The Great North Road: London to York, 2nd edition published in 1922. By the author Charles George Harper (1863 – 1943) Info from wiki: Daniel Lambert was a gaol keeper and animal breeder from Leicester, England, famous for his unusually large size. He was a keen sportsman and extremely strong; on one occasion he fought a bear in the streets of Leicester. His weight began to increase steadily, even though he was athletically active and, by his own account, abstained from drinking alcohol and did not eat unusual amounts of food. In 1805, Lambert's gaol closed. By this time, he weighed 50 stone (700 lb; 320 kg), and had become the heaviest authenticated person up to that point in recorded history. In 1806, poverty forced Lambert to put himself on exhibition to raise money. He took up residence in London, charging spectators to enter his apartments to meet him. Visitors were impressed by his intelligence and personality, and visiting him became highly fashionable. In September 1806, he returned, wealthy, to Leicester. Between 1806 and 1809, he made a further series of short fundraising tours. In June 1809, he died suddenly in Stamford. At the time of his death, he weighed 52 stone 11 pounds (739 lb; 335 kg), and his coffin required 112 square feet ( square metres) of wood. Despite the coffin being built with wheels to allow easy transport, and a sloping approach being dug to the grave, it took 20 men almost half an hour to drag his casket into the trench, , in a newly opened burial ground to the rear of St Martin's Church. While others have since overtaken Daniel Lambert's record as the heaviest person in history, he remains a popular character in Leicester, and in 2009 was described by the Leicester Mercury as "one of the city's most cherished icons".
Size: 2000px × 2197px
Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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