THE TALLEST MAN IN WORLD HISTORY

Robert Pershing Wadlow (02.22.1918 – 07.15.1940) – according to the Guinness Book of Records, the tallest man in world history, whose height has undoubted evidences. Suffering from gigantism and acromegaly, Wadlow grew his entire short life. When he died, his height was 272 cm, and weight – 199 kg. Thus, his height was 15 centimeters more than the height of the highest living person Leonid Stadnik from Ukraine (257 cm) and 26 centimeters more than Sultan Kosen from Turkey (246 cm according to the Guinness Book of Records).

Wadlow’s parents had rather average height (father – 180 cm and 77 kg); he (the firstborn) had two younger brothers and two sisters, of normal height. Up to 4 years, Robert had a normal for his age height and weight, but from that moment began to grow rapidly and attract general attention. At the age of 8 he was 1 m 88 cm tall, at the age of 9 he could carry his father in his arms upstairs, and at 10 he reached 198 cm height and 100 kg weight. At the age of 18, he was already 254 cm tall, weighed 177 kg and wore 37AA (49 cm) shoes; by this time, Wadlow, who had already become an All-American celebrity, was made shoes for free.

The giant young man at the same time attended school, finished it at the age of 18, and entered the university to study law. In the same year, he traveled all over the United States with a circus, and since 1938 he constantly participated in various tours, publicly performed, causing great attention of the crowd everywhere. He was called the “good giant”.

On his 21st birthday his height was 2.63 meters and weight – 223 kg, and the length of his hand from wrist to tip of middle finger was 32.4 cm.

Over time, Wadlow’s health deteriorated: due to rapid growth, he had limited leg sensitivity, so he need crutches. 06.27.1940 his height was measured for the last time in St. Louis: the giant’s height was 2.72 m. 07.04.1940 during a performance on the occasion of Independence Day in Manistee, Michigan, the crutch rubbed Robert’s leg, which caused infection and rapidly developing sepsis. Doctors tried to save the life of the famous American through blood transfusion and surgery, but on July 15, 1940, the tallest man in the world died in a dream.

Wadlow’s funeral attended 40 thousand Americans: his coffin weighed half a ton, and he was carried by 12 people. Wadlow’s grave was carefully concreted at the request of his family, who feared that Robert’s remains would be stolen. His grave carries only: “At Rest”; his monument is twice as high as the standard in the cemetery.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia