Throughout history, there have been many characters who have captured our attention. People who have done incredible feats or at times people who had a physical attribute that gained them notoriety.

Keep reading to learn more about the man said to have the largest nose recorded in human history and the story behind it!

A man from Yorkshire gained fame and notoriety that would last centuries because of his nose. Thomas Wadhouse, known popularly as Thomas Wedders, had a nose that measured at 7.5 inches; the longest nose ever recorded in human history.

Wedders was born in Yorkshire, England in 1730. He started gaining attention when he grew older because of his peculiar looks; specifically his giant nose! Measuring at over 7 inches, the nose gained him a lot of popularity far and wide.

According to records, he joined in on a ‘freak show’ to profit off of his peculiar looks. The magazines at the time would cover him regularly, and some of them suggested that he suffered from intellectual disabilities.

Magazines would often poke fun at him with The Strand Magazine, in 1896, even going to say if the size of a person’s nose was the reason they would gain notoriety, then Wedders would have all the money on Threadneedle Street and also been able to conquer all of Europe.

He gained fame in the mid-18th century and was a circus performer because of his strange look. However, we do not know how the man himself felt about his large nose because there is no record to show how he truly felt.

The decision to become a circus performer is also one people are often confused by, not knowing whether he did so himself or others influenced him.

The man passed away in his 50s and left no diaries or personal letters that would give us a clue into how he felt about his nose. There are also no pictures of him either, but a wax replica exists in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum based on the descriptions of him found in records.

Some people question the reason for his large nose. Researchers have put forward the idea that it could have been a result of an illness in his childhood which might have also affected his cognitive development.

There are also rumors that he might have been a result of a fraternal relationship which caused a genetic combination that could have possibly caused the facial deformity.

If you found this enjoyable, check out the piece below about another misunderstood human.