Robert Wadlow

American who was the tallest recorded person in history

Photo by: Unknown author · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:February 22, 1918

Died:July 15, 1940

Age at death:22

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Sepsis

Zodiac Sign:Pisces

Height:2.72 m (8′11″)

Born in:Alton, United States

Residence:Alton, United States

Buried in:United States

Languages:English

Circus Performer

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Robert Wadlow

American who was the tallest recorded person in history

Biography

Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man known for being the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri. Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH).

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Robert Wadlow”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Front of postcard of Robert Wadlow with his father

statue of Robert Wadlow in Alton, Illinois, outside Alton Museum of History and Art on the campus of the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, August 2009

Robert Wadlow shoe located at Snyder Shoes in Manistee, Michigan

Robert Wadlow shoe (size 25) compared to normal size 12.

Address side of postcard of Robert Wadlow with his father showing no copyright notice

Wadlow, aged 9, beside an average-sized 10-year-old, circa January 1928.

Front of postcard of Robert Wadlow (left) with his average-size father (right).

My son next to a statue of Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man, inside Spiece Fieldhouse

"Robert Wadlow (left) and Jack Grissom, playmates at Alton, IL, are both 10 years old. Robert is six feet, six inches tall and weights 211 pounds. Jack is four feet, two inches-about normal for a boy of his age."