Daniel Lambert was an English gaol keeper from Leicester, born in 1770, who became the heaviest authenticated person in recorded history at that point. He was physically strong and active, and he said he neither drank heavily nor overate, yet his weight rose steadily after he returned to Leicester around 1788. By 1805 he weighed 50 stone, and his gaol job ended that year. Unemployable and self-conscious, he earned money by charging visitors to meet him in London from 1806. He later returned to Leicester to breed sporting dogs. He died in 1809 at 52 stone 11 pounds, and it took 20 men to lower his coffin into the grave.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.