Born on January 9, 1881, in Willow Bunch (known as Talles des Saules then), Saskatchewan. The oldest of a twenty kids familly, Édouard Beaupré is also known as "Le Géant Beaupré".
Édouard grew at a normal rate for the first three years of his life, but soon began growing alarmingly. He reached six feet by age nine and 7'1" by age 17. At the peak of his growth, in 1902, he was measured at 8'2.5".
Édouard had a rather tranquil life, since he was a very shy guy. His Herculean size and strength allowed him to help his poor family financially. Son of a French-canadian and a Métis, Édouard left Willow Bunch at age 17 to exhibit his gifts across Canada and United States, most notably with the Barnum and Bailey circus.
In 1902, Beaupré was challenged to wrestle against Louis Cyr, Québec's strongest man who was then declared the "World's Strongest Man of all Ages" (it has been said that he was able to lift 500 pounds with only one finger). Beaupré lost the fight, since he was already starting to be sick from tuberculosis which eventually killed him.
Beaupré died in 1904, and since his familly did not have enough money to bring back his corpse, Beaupré continued his travel across North America. He was brought to Montréal, where he spent many years. He was first exhibited in Eden Museum, but in 1907, the Université de Montréal claimed the body for research purposes. There, it has been mummified and displayed in a glass box. The Québécois band, Beau Dommage, even wrote a song (called Le Géant Beaupré) about Beaupré's ghost, roaming the halls of the university.
On September 28, 1989, Beaupré's family and Université de Montréal came to an agreement to bring the corpse back to Willow Bunch. The body has been cremated, and the ashes now rest in front of a fiberglass statue of Beaupré, in Willow Bunch.