Shortest female ever

The shortest ever female has been Pauline Musters, known as Princess Pauline (Netherlands). She was born at Ossendrecht, Netherlands on 26 February 1876 and measured 30 cm (12 in) at birth. At nine years of age she was 55 cm (21.5 in) tall and weighed only 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz). She died of pneumonia with meningitis on 1 March 1895 in New York City, USA at the age of 19. A post mortem examination showed her to be exactly 61 cm (24 in) (there was some elongation after death). Her mature weight varied from 3.4–4kg (7.5–9 lb) and her 'vital statistics' were 47–48–43cm (8.5–19–17 in), which suggest she was overweight.

Other shortest females include Italian born Caroline Crachami, born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1815 who was only 51.3 cm (20.2 in) tall when she died in London in 1824 aged nine. Her skeleton, measuring 50.29 cm (19.8 in), is now part of the Hunterian collection in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London.