Worlds Tallest Man

The tallest person in recorded history was Robert Pershing Wadlow (Born February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940). He was also known as the "Alton Giant" because of his birthplace in Alton, Illinois USA. Wadlow was the oldest of five children.

Wadlow was among the most popular of American celebrities and he was well-known due to his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and his 1938 promotional tour with the INTERCO.

How tall was the worlds tallest man?

By 1937, at the age of 19, Wadlow had exceeded all recorded human height records. He grew to the height of 8 feet 11.1 inches and weighed 490 pounds 18 days before his death as recorded by his doctors C. M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Up to the time of his death he was reported to be still growing.

His height and continual growth was attributed to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in a very high level of the human growth hormone.

Wadlow's shoe size was 37AA or 18.5 in. and his hands measured 12.75 inches from the wrist to the tip ofthe middle finger. His arm span was 9 ft. 5.75 in. and his peak daily food consumption was around 8,000 calories according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Wadlow's size required him to wear leg braces to walk, and  he had very little feeling in his legs and feet.

On July 4, 1940, when making an appearance at the National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, causing a blister and infection. Sadly, his condition worsened and on July 15, 1940, he died in his sleep at the age of 22.

A life-size bronze statue of Wadlow was erected at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Dental Medicine.

Wadlow is featured in films and has a wax replica in the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum in Saint Augustine, Florida, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, Canada, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia and Guadalajara, Mexico.

His shoes can be seen today in the Alton Museum of History and Art.

Other Tall Men and Women

Worlds Tallest Males

Alam Channa - Considered to be the tallest living man when he died in 1998 at 7' 7¼"

Bao Xishun - Formerly considered tallest living person at 7' 9"

Gabriel Estêvão Monjane - Guinness World Records listed him as tallest man from 1988 to 1990 at 8' 1"

George Bell - Tallest American at 7' 8"

Gheorghe Mureþan - Tied for tallest in NBA history at 7' 7"

Kenny George - Tallest Division I basketball player at 7' 7"

Leonid Stadnyk - Tallest male living, standing 8' 6"

Manute Bol - Tied for tallest in NBA history at 7' 7"

Matthew McGrory - Tallest actor at 7' 6" when he died.

Neil Fingleton - Tallest person born in UK at 7' 7½"

Radhouane Charbib - Listed by Guinness World Records as tallest man before Bao Xishun and Sun Ming Ming at 7' 8¾"

Sultan Kosen - Tallest basketball player ever in the history of basketball, standing 8' 1"

Suleiman Ali Nashnush - Libyan who is believed to have been the tallest basketball player ever at 8' ½"

Sun Ming-Ming - Formerly second tallest living person at 7' 9", now third tallest living person.

Yao Ming - Yao is currently the tallest player in the NBA at 7' 6"

Yasutaka Okayama - is known to be the tallest basketball player drafted in National Basketball Association history.The 7' 8"

Worlds Tallest Females

Jane Bunford - The world's tallest ever woman (until Zeng Jinlian) and possibly the world's tallest person at the time of her death in April 1922 at 7' 7"

Kimberly VanBourgondien - The 6th tallest person in the world, measured at 7' 2"

Sandy Allen - Listed as tallest living female by Guinness World Records at 7' 7¼", until her death on August 13, 2008.

Yao Defen - Claimant as tallest living female at 7' 9"

Zeng Jinlian - Tallest Woman ever at 8' 1.75".

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