Edward Bright


Edward Bright was a grocer in Maldon, Essex, England — known as the "fat man of Maldon" — 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.
Bright weighed 47.5 stone.
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 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 fitted into the waistcoat.
His portrait was painted in 1750 by David Ogborne, after whose painting various etchings were published, including:
In 2000, a bronze relief of seven men in Bright's coat, by sculptor Catharni Stern, was installed at the King's Head Centre off Maldon's High Street, near Bright's former home.