Blossom_Studio_by_BABY

The interior of a commercial plane in 1936. The plane belonged to Imperial Airways, the first British commercial airline. Credit: color_byangelina on Instagram

This image that was colorized by Angelina Karpunina received 36k likes when it was shared in March 2021, making it the 14th most liked post on the HistoryColored Instagram in 2021.⁠ Click the link below to see the other top 15 most popular history colorized photos of 2021!

https://historycolored.com/photos/9538/top-15-most-popular-history-colorized-photos-of-2021/

☞Today in History -- On today’s date 176 years ago, Thursday, August 5, 1846, noted Canadian giantess & sideshow performer Anna Haining Bates, née Swan (1846-1888), was born in the community of New Annan in Colchester County, Nova Scotia.

☞Famed for her great height, Anna Swan was believed to be seven foot, 11½ inches at the peak of her stature. Her parents were of average height & were Scottish immigrants. Swan excelled at literature & music, & was considered to be very intelligent. She also excelled at her studies of acting, piano, & voice. She played Lady Macbeth in one play. In 1870, Anna Swan made an appearance at the Museum of Living Wonders in Virginia City, Nevada.

☞Whilst visiting a circus in Halifax with which Martin Van Buren Bates (1837-1919), another enormously tall person, was travelling, Swan was spotted by the promoter & was hired on the spot. The giant couple became a touring sensation & eventually fell in love &, on June 17, 1871, in St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, they married after which they were billed as “The Tallest Couple on the Globe.”

☞The circa-1866 Carte de visite photograph depicts Anna Swan. The caption accompanying the photograph reads: “Miss Anna Swan, Twenty years of age, eight feet high, & weighing 413 pounds.”