Talk:Martin Van Buren Bates

Untitled
The Guinness Books put his actual height at 7 ft 2 1/2 inches. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.99.204.59 (talk) 21:11, 17 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I remember him as one of the longest-lived men to be over 7 foot. He apparently lived to be 82 which was above average for a man born in 1837. In most cases I'm aware of men this tall live a sub-normal lifespan. (There were however to dwarves who were also centenarians, but in both cases they were women)--T. Anthony 11:26, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

--Martin Bates certainly had the longest lifespan of any 7 1/2 footer I am aware of. 82 years is older than the average male life expectancy in the US which is at 77.

The closest rival to this I am aware of would be the Icelandic giant Johann Petursson (7'7 360 lbs) who lived nearly 72 years (1913-1984).

Most men afflicted with acromegalic gigantism are generally confined to a lifespan between 30 and 50, and the lifespan decreases dramatically the taller they tend to be (as in the case of Robert Wadlow).--71.222.48.14 18:14, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Odd, considering Wadlow didn't suffer from that. Not surprisingly, it played no part in his death.  64.231.15.178 22:51, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

People with gigantism?
I seem to recall reading that he didn't actually have gigantism, he was just very tall. Much like how Angus MacAskill was tall. I ask because I have him in List of people with gigantism, but I'm not sure that's correct.--T. Anthony 13:40, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

President
Does he have any relation to the president Martin Van Buren? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.139.135.84 (talk) 23:23, 5 May 2008 (UTC)
 * He appears to have been born the year Van Buren became president. 72.67.93.133 (talk) 07:07, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Well yeah, his parents were probably major Martin Van Buren supporters and therefore named their son after him. In other words, he isn't, related to him because he doesn't even share the same last name, "Van Buren" is really nothing more than a middle name for him. –Nahald (talk) 03:12, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Angus MacAskill?
No one can seem to confirm if he has gigantism or not and he seems very similar to Angus MacAskill he also has very similar genetics such as part Scottish and you can tell by the last name it’s probably dutch 141.152.248.36 (talk) 08:20, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

Correcting height of Martin Van Buren Bates and his wife
Before my edit today, this article gave Martin Van Buren Bates's height as 7'11", and his wife Anna Haining Bates as 7'6". This is clearly incorrect, as all photos show him to be about the same height or slightly shorter than his wife. While Guinness World Records may not be the ultimate authority in factual information, their heights seem to more plausibly match the existing photographs of the couple, so I have edited this article to reflect their numbers: 7'9" for Martin Van Buren Bates, and 7'11" for Anna Haining Bates. Shugurim (talk) 05:44, 29 March 2022 (UTC)