Pauline Musters

Pauline Musters (February 26, 1878 – March 1, 1895) was a Dutch woman. She is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the shortest woman ever recorded, standing at only tall.

Life Musters was born in 1878 in Ossendrecht in North Brabant province, The Netherlands. She was the seventh child of carpenter Michiel Musters (1843–1889) and Anna Maria Couwenbergh. She had five sisters and three brothers. At birth she measured 11.8 in (30 cm). At age nine she was 1 ft 9.5 in (54.61 cm) and weighed 4 lb 5 oz.

When she was two years old, her father began showing her at fun fairs, and she toured since childhood. Pauline's celebrity meant unexpected wealth for her family:

She was received, among others, by Queen Emma of the Netherlands and Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.

In 1894, she was invited to the United States by an impresario. She made her debut on December 31, 1894, in Proctor's Theatre on Broadway, New York City, with whom Verschueren had concluded a contract for two years. She was very well received, and photographs of her were published in many newspapers. (by other sources from a cold and an illness of the chest At a measured size of 1 ft 11.2 in (58,9 cm) she set a record as the shortest adult person. (Mexican Lucía Zárate is said to have been only 1 ft 8 in [51 cm] by some accounts, but has been registered in Guinness World Records with a size of 2 ft 2.8 in [67 cm].) There were also false data of 1 ft 6.9 in (48 cm) and 1 ft 4.5 in (42 cm), probably circulated by Verschueren himself, who exaggerated her age, too.