Édouard Beaupré

Lore & Background

Beaupré was the eldest of 20 children born to Gaspard Beaupré and Florestine Piché, who was Métis. He grew up in the ranching community of Willow Bunch, accompanying his father on freighting trips. At age seven he was average height, but by nine he had reached 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in), and by 12 he was over 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in). His rapid growth forced him to leave school. He became fluent in French, English, Métchif, Cree, and Sioux, and was an accomplished horseman, but his extraordinary height made ranch work impractical.

Abandoning ranching, Beaupré toured as a strongman, bending iron bars and lifting horses onto his shoulders. On March 25, 1901, he wrestled Louis Cyr in Montreal, losing in a very short match. Around age 21 he stood 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) and weighed 166 kg (366 lb). In December 1903 he measured 2.50 m (8 ft 2+1⁄2 in). He signed with Barnum and Bailey on July 1, 1904, to appear at the St. Louis World's Fair, but died two days later from a pulmonary hemorrhage caused by tuberculosis. His death certificate recorded his height as 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in) and weight as 170 kg (370 lb).

Reader's Guide

Beaupré's significance lies in his extreme stature, making him one of the tallest men in recorded history, and his brief but notable career as a circus performer and strongman. His life illustrates the challenges faced by individuals with gigantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the difficulty of finding practical work and the exploitation of his body after death. The posthumous treatment of his remains—embalmed, exhibited, abandoned, mummified, and displayed at a university for decades—raises ethical questions about the display of human remains. His family's long campaign to reclaim his ashes, finally successful in 1990, highlights issues of dignity and repatriation. The 2024 animated short film 'Beaupré the Giant' attests to his enduring cultural memory.

Did You Know?

• He could lift horses onto his shoulders as a strongman act.
• His body was embalmed and publicly exhibited after his death.
• His remains were cremated and returned to Willow Bunch in 1990, 86 years after his death.

A Boy Who Outgrew His World

Édouard Beaupré entered the world on January 9, 1881, in the small ranching community of Willow Bunch, in present-day Saskatchewan. He was the first of twenty children born to Gaspard Beaupré and Florestine Piché, a Métis woman. His father worked as a freighter hauling cattle and horses for rancher Jean-Louis Légaré, who also served as the boy's godfather. Young Édouard tagged along on freighting trips to Moose Jaw, Regina, and into Montana. At seven, he was an average-sized child, but by nine he had already shot up to six feet. Over the next three years he added at least another six inches, surpassing six feet six by age twelve. School became impractical, and he left his studies. Despite his towering frame, he was a skilled horseman and dreamed of ranching. He spoke French, English, Métchif, Cree, and Sioux with fluency. By seventeen he had reached seven feet three, and ranch work became impossible. He abandoned the occupation he had hoped to call his own.

The Road and the Ring

With ranching no longer viable, Beaupré took to the road. He toured from Winnipeg to Montreal and spent time in California, showcasing his extraordinary strength by bending iron bars and hoisting horses onto his shoulders. A defining moment came on March 25, 1901, in Montreal, when he stepped into the ring against Louis Cyr, a celebrated French Canadian strongman. The bout was brief, and Cyr emerged victorious. By the time he was twenty-one, Beaupré stood seven feet eleven and weighed 366 pounds. His physical dimensions were staggering: a neck circumference of twenty-one inches, hands measuring twelve and a half inches from wrist to fingertips, a chest of fifty-six inches, and custom-made shoes for his size-twenty-two feet. By December 1903, his height had crept to eight feet two and a half inches. He was, by any measure, one of the tallest men ever recorded.

Two Days and a Century of Displacement

On July 1, 1904, Beaupré signed a contract with Barnum and Bailey to appear at the St. Louis World's Fair. Just two days later, on July 3, he died at the age of twenty-three. The cause was a pulmonary hemorrhage triggered by complications of tuberculosis. His death certificate recorded his final height at eight feet three and his weight at 370 pounds. The circus had his body embalmed, but when it refused to settle the undertaker's bill, the remains stayed in St. Louis, where they were put on public display. They were later moved to Montreal and exhibited at the Museum of Eden until authorities shut the show down due to the crowds it drew. Another Montreal circus acquired the body, but after that company went bankrupt, the remains were left to sit in a warehouse. In 1907, two boys playing in the building stumbled upon them. The Université de Montréal took possession, performed an autopsy, and preserved the body through mummification. It sat in a glass case as an anatomical specimen for decades.

Coming Home at Last

The Beaupré family had no idea their son's body was in Montreal until 1967, sixty-three years after his death. In 1975 they began pressing for its return to Willow Bunch for a proper burial, but the university refused, citing the remains' ongoing scientific value. The family persisted, and in 1989, backed by media attention, they renewed their campaign. The university finally agreed to release the body on one condition: it must first be cremated to guard against grave robbing. The ashes, enough to fill two urns, were brought back to Willow Bunch in 1990—eighty-six years after Édouard's death. After a memorial service, his remains were interred in front of the Willow Bunch Museum. His story continues to resonate: in 2024, animator Alain Fournier released Beaupré the Giant (Géant Beaupré), a short film that carries the giant's memory into a new generation.

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