Known as the Alton Giant, Robert Wadlow from Alton, Illinois was the tallest person confirmed in history. With a height of 2.72 meters (8 feet, 11 inches) at the time of his tragically early death, the towering American was the size of a regular teenager by the time he started kindergarten, and also possessed the largest feet and hands ever recorded.
Born in February 1918 to regular-sized parents, Wadlow was an unspectacular baby – slightly on the large size, but certainly nothing unusual. By the age of five, however, the young lad had shot up to 1.63 meters (5 feet, 3.5 inches) and had to wear clothes designed for 17-year-old boys.
He overtook his almost 6-foot father just three years later, and wore size 17.5 shoes by the time he was ten. At thirteen, he became the world’s tallest boy scout, with a height of 2.24 meters (7 feet, 4 inches). Unsurprisingly, he had to have his uniform, tent, and sleeping bag all custom-made to fit his enormous body.
Dwarfing his parents and four siblings, Wadlow’s incredible height was caused by hyperplasia of his pituitary gland. As a consequence, his body produced abnormally high levels of growth hormones, causing him to keep on growing at an exceptional rate throughout his entire life.
After graduating from high school in 1936, the mild-mannered giant began touring with the Ringling Brothers Circus, achieving widespread fame. Later that year, he earned his only film credit after starring in a minute-long documentary about his remarkable frame, produced by British Pathé.
Regarding those aforementioned extremities, Wadlow’s hands are said to have measured 32.3 centimeters (12.7 inches) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger, while his 47-centimeter-long (18.5-inch) feet were way off the standard size charts. In order to pay for his enormous, custom-made shoes, Wadlow became a goodwill ambassador for the International Shoe Company, traveling the US in exchange for free footwear.
However, all was not fun and games for the Alton Giant, who had to wear leg braces and use a cane to support his weight. In July 1940, he passed away as a result of an infected sore caused by an ill-fitting brace, at the age of just 22.
Wadlow’s coffin weighed 454 kilograms (1,000 pounds). A lifesize statue of the city’s largest-ever resident now stands across the street from the Alton Museum of History and Art.
Made famous by the Guinness Book of World Records, Wadlow is one of only ten people ever confirmed to have reached more than eight feet in height – including the tallest living human, Sultan Kösen from Turkiye, who stands at 251 centimeters (8 feet, 3 inches) tall.
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