Agustin Luengo Capilla

Agustin Luengo Capilla was born on 15 August 1849 (other sources say he was born in 1826, in Puebla de Alcocer (Badajoz, Spain). Born in a poor family, Agustin worked from a young age as an attraction in a circus where he was exhibited as a monster to astonish the visitors. His height of 233 cm made him the tallest man of Spain, or so they thought (They obviously did not know about Miguel Joaquin de Eleicegui who was a little bit taller and older so Agustin has never been the tallest man of Spain).

Medical science saw him as an anthropological peculiarity, and 'bought' his body while he was still alive and today his skeleton can be seen in the National Museum of Anthropology in Madrid. A plaster casting of his body was also made.

Being from a humble family, Agustin lived in a small house. His parents adapted the house so it would be more suitable to the size of their son by making holes in the wall at the end of his bed. As a child he was very sickly and when he was 12 years old he started work as a circus attraction. He exhibited his huge hands (stories say 40 cm in length), able to hide a loaf of bread. King Alfonso XII heard of him and had a pair of boots made for him, which can still be seen in the ethnographic museum in Puebla de Alcocer (size 52). This museum also has a circus poster, a picture of Agustin standing next to a man of average height (see image below) and some objects that belonged to him like a linen cloth, some socks and a cap. He was nicknamed "Extremeño" giant.

The director and founder of the Anthropological Museum of Madrid, Doctor D. Pedro Gonzalez Velasco (university professor of Anatomy of the University San Carlos, Madrid) heard of the fantastic personage that was Agustin Luengo Capilla and was fascinated by the giant extremeño. By this time, Agustin measured 233cm which is an impressive stature in our days but even more so in the 19th century when the average was a lot lower. Doctor Velasco proposed to buy his body. In exchange, once passed away, the corpse would be exposed in the museum. The sum of 3,000 peseta's was agreed, of which 1,500 were paid while still alive at the rate of 2.50 peseta's daily and the rest was paid to his family once he passed away. Agustin accepted the proposal and moved to Madrid where he began to enjoy a life of financial security. Stories say that, without economic pressure, he lived a life of excesses. His life had not been a happy one until then. Dr. Velasco saw Agustin more as merchandise than as a patient and he reprimanded Agustin on several occasions about his new lifestyle. Agustin told him not to worry as he would surely die sooner by living the way he lived and he could have the body he wished to display. Not long after, it was discovered that the giant was suffering from tuberculosis in a very advanced stage. He died young, at the age of 26 on 31 December 1875.

Today, Agustin Luengo Capilla, a man who fascinated many by his stature, 'rests' in a display cabinet in the National museum of Anthropology near the bust of his buyer, Dr. Velasco.