Guinness World Records claims that Robert Pershing Wadlow (born February 22, 1918, in Alton, Illinois; died July 15, 1940, in Manistee, Michigan) was the tallest man to ever live. On June 27, 1940, he was 8 feet 11.1 inches (272 cm) tall and 439 pounds (199 kg). The medical term for the expansion of his pituitary gland (his otherwise healthy cells) that led to his tall height, which persisted till the end of his life, is called hypertrophy. He was also known as the Alton Giant.
According to some sources, the tallest man in history could be John Middleton the Giant instead of Robert Wadlow.
Robert Wadlow’s Exceptional Growth
At Birth
He was the first of five children born to Harold Franklin Wadlow (later Alton’s mayor) and Addie May (née Johnson) Wadlow in 1918. Harold Franklin Jr., Betty Jean, Eugene Harold, and Helen Ione were born later to the family.
At birth, Robert weighed 8.4 pounds (3.8 kg) and measured 1 ft 8 in (0.51 m). As a newborn, he was of ordinary size.
Childhood
Wadlow’s rapid and exceptional growth was noticeable in the months after his birth. He weighed 30 lb (13.6 kg) at 6 months of age. His height and weight at the time of his first steps were 3 feet 3.4 inches (100 cm) and 40 pounds (18 kg).
At the age of one and a half, he weighed 67 lb (30 kg). By the time he was two years old, Robert looked like a ten-year-old child, and his exceptional size had garnered widespread notice.
Robert was 5 ft 6.5 in (169 cm) tall when he was five years old, and he was 6 ft (183 cm) tall when he was eight. By this time, he was taller than his father, and he needed a custom-built desk to be able to attend school.
At 16 years old, Robert Wadlow was already as tall as the tallest Potsdam Giants, Daniel Cajanus (1704–1749) who was said to measure 8 feet 1.24 inches (2.47 m).
He was able to lift his 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) tall, 170 lb (77 kg) father up the stairs to their home when he was only nine years old.
Robert Wadlow was 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) tall and weighed 212 pounds (96 kg) when he was ten years old. Growing an average of 4 inches (10 cm) each year since birth, he reached a height of 7 feet 4 inches (224 cm) at the age of thirteen, making him the tallest Boy Scout in the world. His shoe size was 19 (US), 56 (EU), or 18.5 (UK) at this time.
At 17 years old, Robert Wadlow was as tall as the tallest living man, Sultan Köse, who measured 8 feet 3 inches (251 cm) and is 40 years old today.
He was 8 feet 1.24 inches (247 cm) tall and weighed 374 pounds (170 kg) at sixteen, 8 feet 3 inches (251 cm), 382 pounds (173 kg) at seventeen, 8 feet 4 inches (254 cm), and over 391 pounds (177 kg) at eighteen. At this point, Robert Wadlow’s shoe size was 37AA (US), 36 (UK), or 75 (EU).
He received his gigantic free shoes from a 1911 shoe company called International Shoe Company.
Adulthood
Robert Wadlow enrolled at Shurtleff College to study law in 1936 after graduating from Alton High School. In 1937, he reached a new record height. He was 8 feet 6.4 inches (260 cm) tall and weighed 480 pounds (220 kg) when he was 19 years old, and 491 pounds (223 kg) when he was 21.
At this point in life, the length of Robert Wadlow’s hand was 12.76 inches (32.4 cm) from wrist to middle finger. His ring size was 16 US or size 25. His extended arms were 9 feet 5.4 inches (2.88 meters) apart at the widest point. He consumed a total of 8,000 calories per day. That was equal to the amount of food eaten by three people.
The problem with his extraordinary height grew in complexity over time. Robert Wadlow had minimal sensation in his hands and feet and had to wear braces on his legs to help support his weight and help him stand, particularly for public engagements. Despite this, Robert was in excellent shape and had impressive strength for his height. Unlike many other tall people in history, he never needed a wheelchair.
Robert Wadlow’s Death
Robert Wadlow reached his full height of 8 feet 11.1 inches (272 cm) at the age of 22. On June 27, 1940, eighteen days before his death, his height was measured at Washington University in St. Louis by Dr. C. M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde.
Wadlow had already established himself as an American icon at this point. Both the Ringling Brothers Circus (in 1936) and the INTERCO (in 1938) sent him on tours and among the places he made appearances were Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden. In 1939, he joined the Freemasons after spending some time in the Order of DeMolay.
A week after having a defective leg brace put in, Wadlow damaged his ankle during the National Forest Festival on July 4, 1940, and he had to be rushed to the hospital to have it treated for infection. After receiving a blood transfusion and having surgery, his health deteriorated to the point that he passed away peacefully in his sleep at 1:30 a.m. on July 15.
Funeral
One year before his death, Wadlow passed John Rogan (1867–1905) as the tallest person ever.
The 19th of July saw his burial at Oakwood Cemetery in Alton. An estimated 40,000 people attended his funeral. His remains were put to rest in a strong concrete vault, perhaps because his family was afraid that inquisitive onlookers might break into the tomb and take the body. His 1,100-pound (500 kg) coffin measured 129 inches (3.28 m) in length, 32 inches (81 cm) in width, and 30 inches (76 cm) in depth.
Robert Wadlow Statue
Robert Wadlow’s likeness was immortalized in 1986 with a statue at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Today, it is standing in front of the SIU School of Dental Medicine.
In 1986, the city of Alton put up a memorial to the Alton Giant that would remain there forever. Visitors can experience what it’s like to be near the world’s tallest man by standing next to him. Ned Giberson created this statue at the time while he was a graduate student in neighboring Edwardsville.
Why Robert Wadlow Was So Tall
Gigantism, the condition that Wadlow had, does not often result in such extreme growth or manifest itself at such a young age. The pituitary gland, which in an adult human is about the size of a pea and is located at the base of the brain, secretes human growth hormone (HGH).
Robert’s abnormally big pituitary gland caused him to produce an abundance of growth hormone, resulting in his rapid and unusual development from the moment of his birth. If he hadn’t died in 1940, Robert Wadlow would have kept growing taller and he would be somewhere between 9 feet and 9 feet and 2.2 inches (275–280 cm) in height.
Was Robert Wadlow Really the Tallest Man?
John Middleton (1578–1623), also known as The Childe of Hale, lived in the English village of Hale near Liverpool in the early modern period. Middleton is also believed to have suffered from gigantism. His burial site is still accessible through the graveyard, and the inscription on his tombstone reads:
“Here lyeth the bodie of John Middleton the Childe of Hale. Nine feet three. Borne 1578 Dyede 1623.”
Some alleged bone records and contemporary paintings attest to his existence, and they point to the fact that at 9 feet 3 inches (2.81 m) John Middleton was actually taller than Robert Wadlow. However, due to the lack of direct evidence, Robert Wadlow still stands as the verified tallest human. This is the only confirmed case for the tallest man who has ever lived in history.
