Trijntje Cornelisdochter Keever (10 or 16 April 1616 – 2 July 1633), nicknamed De Groote Meid (in English, ''The Big Girl''), is alleged to be the tallest female person in recorded history, standing 9 Amsterdam feet or tall at the time of her death at age seventeen. Trijntje Keever was the daughter of Cornelis Keever and Anna Pouwels. Cornelis was a Dutch skipper and Anna was his maid; he married her on May 24, 1605. Trijntje was born on April 10 or 16, 1616, in Edam. Keever's parents took her to carnivals to earn some money by letting people see her. Trijntje first received public attention when she was nine years old and had reached the height of . A royal company consisting of the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n king

Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate bo ...

, his wife

Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 159613 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted for just one winter, she is called the Wi ...

and the princess

Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) *Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

, living in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

at the time, visited her, curious about the "nine-year-old girl taller than every man in Europe". Keever died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at the age of 17 in Ter Veen. She was buried on 7 July 1633 in Edam, her town of birth. Her epitaph is said to have read, , or, in English: “Trijntje Crelis, big girl, 17 years of age”. In the townhall of Edam is a lifesize painting by an unknown artist portraying Keever in civilian clothes with a belt holding at her right a keyring and at her left a pincushion and a sheath with a knife, fork, and spoon. The caption with the painting suggests she was portrayed more beautiful than she really was and that she probably had

gigantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', " giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ov ...

. Her original shoes are also on display. If there were a size for the shoes, they would be European size 54 (36 cm or long). Despite her height compared to Zeng Jinlian her height remains unverified by many sources, but she is considered by many as the tallest woman in reported history and seventh-tallest person ever, behind

Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...

John Rogan John William "Bud" Rogan February 12 – September 11, 1905; some sources indicate 1867, 1868 and 1871 as his birth year) is recorded as the second-tallest person ever at , behind only Robert Wadlow. Biography John Rogan was born in Hende ...

, John F. Carroll,

Franz Winkelmeier Franz Winkelmeier (27 April 1860 – 24 August 1887) was an Austrian man who was promoted as the world's tallest man at ; however, he was measured by well known physician Rudolf Virchow at . He was known as the Giant (german: Riese) of Friedbur ...

Leonid Stadnyk Leonid Stepanovych Stadnyk ( uk , Леонід Степанович Стадник; 5 August 1970 – 24 August 2014) was a Ukrainian man who claimed to have stood at though the photographic evidence suggests he was no more than 7 ft 9 ...

Vikas Uppal Vikas Kumar "Vicky" Uppal (1 January 1986 – 30 June 2007) was a native and resident of India, said to be India's tallest man until his death on 30 June 2007 when he died during a failed brain tumor operation in Delhi. In 2004, ''The Tribune'' ...

and

Julius Koch Julius Koch (1872 – 30 March 1902), also known as ("Constantin the Giant"), was one of the tallest people ever. He suffered from gigantism, with an enlarged pituitary gland, testicular atrophy and lack of sexual development, and had trouble ...

. She was the tallest person ever until

References

External links

Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon – portret
in Dutch {{DEFAULTSORT:Keever, Trijntje 1616 births 1633 deaths People from Edam-Volendam People with gigantism Deaths from cancer in the Netherlands Burials in the Netherlands 17th-century Dutch women Ethnological show business

See also

References

External links