Robert Wadlow
Quick Facts
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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 who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.
Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) in height and weighed 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH). Even by the time of his death, there was no indication that his growth had ended.
Early life
Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, to Harold Franklin and Addie May (Johnson) Wadlow, and was the oldest of five children. He was taller than his father by age 8, and in elementary school a special desk was made for him. By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 ft 4 in (254 cm). He enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.
Adulthood and death
Wadlow required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet. He never used a wheelchair.
Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the sideshow). During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails.
In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge, again only in his everyday street clothes. Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak. He possessed great physical strength until the last few days of his life.
Wadlow belonged to the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men, and was later a Freemason. By November 1939, Wadlow was a Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. and A.M.
One year before his death, Wadlow passed John Rogan as the tallest person ever. On June 27, 1940 (18 days before his death), he was measured by doctors at 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m).
On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, leading to infection. He was treated with a blood transfusion and surgery, but his condition worsened due to an autoimmune disorder; he died in his sleep on July 15.
His coffin measured 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) long by 2 ft 8 in (0.81 m) wide by 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m) deep, weighed over 1,000 lb (450 kg), and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois.
A life-size statue of Wadlow was erected opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art in 1986.
Height chart
| Age | Height | Weight | Notes | Size of | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 1 ft 8 in (0.51 m) | 8 lb 5 oz (3.8 kg) | Normal height and weight | Average newborn | February 22, 1918 |
| 6 months | 2 ft 10 ⁄2 in (0.88 m) | 30 lb (14 kg) | 2 year old | August 22, 1918 | |
| 1 Year | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) | 45 lb (20 kg) | When he began to walk at 11 months, he was 3 ft 3 ⁄2 in (1.00 m) tall and weighed 40 lbs. | 5 year old | February 22, 1919 |
| 18 Months | 4 ft 3 ⁄4 in (1.30 m) | 67 lb (30 kg) | 8 year old | August 22, 1919 | |
| 2 years | 4 ft 6 ⁄4 in (1.38 m) | 75 lb (34 kg) | 10 year old | 1920 | |
| 3 years | 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) | 89 lb (40 kg) | 12 year old | 1921 | |
| 4 years | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | 105 lb (48 kg) | 14 year old | 1922 | |
| 5 years | 5 ft 6 ⁄2 in (1.69 m) | 105 lb (48 kg) | At 5 years of age, attending kindergarten, Robert was 5' 6 1/2" tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17-year-old boy. | 15 year old | 1923 |
| 6 years | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 146 lb (66 kg) | 15 year old | 1924 | |
| 7 years | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 159 lb (72 kg) | Height of adult male | 1925 | |
| 8 years | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 169 lb (77 kg) | 1926 | ||
| 9 years | 6 ft 2 ⁄2 in (1.89 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Weighing 180 pounds, he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor. | 1927 | |
| 10 years | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 211 lb (96 kg) | 1928 | ||
| 11 years | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 1929 | ||
| 12 years | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 287 lb (130 kg) | 1930 | ||
| 13 years | 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | World's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of 4 inches (10 cm) per year since birth and wearing size 19 (U.S.) shoes. | 1931 | |
| 14 years | 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) | 331 lb (150 kg) | 1932 | ||
| 15 years | 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) | 354 lb (161 kg) | 1933 | ||
| 16 years | 8 ft 1 ⁄4 in (2.47 m) | 374 lb (170 kg) | 1934 | ||
| 17 years | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) | 382 lb (173 kg) | Graduated from high school on January 8, 1936 and was 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m). | Height of Sultan Kösen, tallest living man. | 1935 |
| 18 years | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) | 391 lb (177 kg) | 1936 | ||
| 19 years | 8 ft 6 ⁄2 in (2.60 m) | 480 lb (220 kg) | 1937 | ||
| 20 years | 8 ft 7 ⁄4 in (2.62 m) | 488 lb (221 kg) | 1938 | ||
| 21 years | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) | 491 lb (223 kg) | 1939 | ||
| 22.4 years | 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) | 439 lb (199 kg) | At death, he was the world's tallest man according to the Guinness World Records. | June 27, 1940 |
