The skeleton of a man who was afraid to become a museum exhibit will finally be removed from the exhibition

The British Museum will be removing its most famous exhibit, the skeleton of an 18th-century man commonly known as the “Irish Giant”, from display.

The Hunterian Museum houses a collection of anatomical specimens from London’s Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS). It has been closed for major renovations for five years, but when it reopens in March, its 3,000-piece collection will not include the skeleton of Charles Byrne.

Byrne had an undiagnosed benign pituitary tumor. As a result, his body produced too much growth hormone, causing conditions known as acromegaly and gigantism, meaning his bones became much larger than usual. He grew to 7 feet 7 inches tall – 2.31 m.

In the last phase of his life, Byrne made a living by presenting himself as an “Irish giant”. He died in 1783, and the RCS reported that it was documented that he wanted to be buried at sea to prevent anatomists from taking his body.

However, the museum’s founder, surgeon and anatomist John Hunter, paid Byrne’s friends to hand over his body, and three years later exhibited the skeleton in his museum, which was then located in London’s Leicester Square.

.The RCS press statement confirmed the decision to remove Byrne’s skeleton from the collection.

It stated: “During the closing period of the museum, the Board of Trustees of the Huntsman Collection discussed the delicacy and different points of view involved in the display and preservation of the skeleton of Charles Byrne. The trustees have agreed that the skeleton of Charles Byrne will not be displayed in the refurbished Hunter Museum, but will continue to be available for conscientious medical research into the condition of pituitary acromegaly and gigantism.”