Edward Bright

Edward Bright (1721–1750)[1] was a grocer in Maldon, Essex, England — known as the "fat man of Maldon"[2] — who was reputed at the time of his death in 1750 to be the "fattest man in England". He lived in a house on Maldon's High Street, and is buried in Maldon's Church of All Saints.

Edward Bright

Bright weighed 47.5 stone (665 lb or 302 kg).

His coat was said to be large enough to have seven men stand inside it, although this is also sometimes stated as seven hundred men because of a tale[3] in which a man in a local pub tempted a gambler with a bet that "seven hundred men" would fit into Edward Bright’s waistcoat. The bet was accepted. The gambler lost, because seven men from the Dengie Hundred (a parcel of land) fitted into the waistcoat.[4]

An engraving based on an illustration made six weeks before his death

His portrait was painted in 1750 by David Ogborne (1700–1768), after whose painting various etchings[5] were published, including:

  • 1750 - Irish engraver James McArdell (1728–1765)
  • 1751 - Anthony Walker, published by John Hinton

In 2000, a bronze relief[6] of seven men in Bright's coat, by sculptor Catharni Stern,[7] was installed at the King's Head Centre off Maldon's High Street, near Bright's former home.

See also
  • List of the heaviest people

References
  1. Some references have the year of his death as 1756.
  2. Edward Bright - the fat man of Maldon, accessed 7 December 2010
  3. Maldon and Dengie Hundred Group Archived 2012-05-12 at WebCite, accessed 7 December 2010
  4. Dirks, Whitney (2019-08-30). "'Weighty Celebrity': Corpulency, Monstrosity, and Freakery in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century England". Disability Studies Quarterly. 39 (3). doi:10.18061/dsq.v39i3.6602. ISSN 2159-8371.
  5. Edward Bright Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom), accessed 15 February 2007
  6. Image of Stern's bronze relief accessed 7 December 2010
  7. Maldon: Bronze of Fat man's coat, Evening Gazette, accessed 7 December 2010
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