> Would
> earlier this century not be more comparable to the previous
> century? If so, then there must have been a considerable
> difference between people now and people then.

Actually, average height has varied through the years, but not necessarily in a linear fashion, as best as we can tell. So I'm afraid that looking at 20th century trends wouldn't really tell us anything directly about 19th century heights--in other words, you can't extrapolate the data on that basis. Heck, average height can change fairly quickly as is--when I was a boy, 30 years ago, average height for American males was about 5'7"; now, it is 5'9". 2 inches in 30 years is considerable, no?

YHOS, Snarkhunter