Robert Wadlow


Robert Pershing Wadlow, 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 small city near St. Louis, Missouri.
Wadlow reached in height and weighed 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. 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 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. 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. 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, he was measured by doctors at.
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 long by wide by deep, weighed over, 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

AgeHeightWeightNotesSize ofDate
BirthNormal height and weightAverage newbornFebruary 22, 1918
6 months2 year oldAugust 22, 1918
1 YearWhen he began to walk at 11 months, he was tall and weighed 40 lbs.5 year oldFebruary 22, 1919
18 Months8 year oldAugust 22, 1919
2 years10 year old1920
3 years12 year old1921
4 years14 year old1922
5 yearsAt 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 old1923
6 years15 year old1924
7 yearsHeight of adult male1925
8 years1926
9 yearsWeighing 180 pounds, he was strong enough to carry his father up the stairs to the second floor.1927
10 years1928
11 years1929
12 years1930
13 yearsWorld's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of per year since birth and wearing size 19 shoes.1931
14 years1932
15 years1933
16 years1934
17 yearsGraduated from high school on January 8, 1936 and was.Height of Sultan Kösen, tallest living man.1935
18 years1936
19 years1937
20 years1938
21 years1939
22.4 yearsAt death, he was the world's tallest man according to the Guinness World Records.June 27, 1940