Robert Pershing Wadlow Tallest Man In History

Robert Pershing Wadlow, lovingly called Alton Giant is the tallest man in human history as far as substantive evidence goes. He stood at 8 feet 11.09 inches. The man died on July 15, 1940 and at the time was still growing.

Robert Pershing Wadlow was born on February 22, 1918 at Alton, Illinois to Addie and Harold Wadlow. Robert was born with normal weight and height. He was the oldest of the five Wadlow children and till the age of four he showed normal growth. But then onwards he grew rapidly and when he was eight he reached a height of 6 ft 2 in. when he was 13 he became the tallest boy scout of the world with a height of 7 ft 4 in and wore a shoe size 25 by American size.

Robert Pershing Wadlow also maintained a weight in tune with the height. He reached 100 kg when he was 6 ft 6 in at the age of 10. He was found to growing at an average of 4 inches per year. At 16 he was 7 ft 10.5 in; at 17 he was 8 ft 1.5 in and by the time he was 18 he measured 8 ft 4 in and weighed 177 kg. He was reported to have worn shoes of American size 32AA but after checking it was seen that they measured 18 inches, that is 29 or 30 size.

Robert Pershing Wadlow graduated from Alton High School in 1936. Thereafter he joined the Shurtleff College for studying law. By this time, at the age of 19, he was 8 ft 6 in tall and weighed 197 kg. he attained the greatest weight of 223 kg at the age of 21. His giant sized shoes are on display at various museums including the Alton Museum of History and Art. The shoes were supplied to him by a shoe company free of cost in return of some promotional work for it.

The reason for this abnormal growth of Robert Pershing Wadlow was due to hypertrophy of the pituitary gland where there is an abnormal level of the human growth hormone. This took its toll on him. In the last days he had to use braces for walking and hardly had any feelings in his feet and legs. His last measurement took place only 18 days before his death. It recorded 8 ft 11.09 inches or 2.72 m. Wadlow was one of the popular celebrities of USA and toured the country with Ringing Brothers Circus and INTERCO.

Robert Pershing Wadlow, the Gentle Giant, died from an infection resulting from a faulty brace. The doctors tried their best including transfusion of blood. But he breathed his last on July 15, 1940. He was buried in a half-ton coffin and laid to rest in a solid concrete vault. This was done to secure his body from any vandalism. Robert Wadlow