Robert Wadlow

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Template:Short description Template:Pp Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 Template:Ndash July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man. He is 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.[1]

Wadlow's height was Script error: No such module "convert".[2][3][4] while his weight reached Script error: No such module "convert". 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).

Early life

File:Robert Wadlow 1928.jpg
Wadlow (left) at ten years old, 1928

Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, to Harold Franklin and Addie May (Johnson) Wadlow, with a typical birth weight of Script error: No such module "convert".[5] 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. His pituitary gland condition was diagnosed at the age of twelve. At the time, corrective surgery was dangerous and not guaranteed to work so his parents decided against intervening.[6] He was involved in a high school German and Camera club before his graduation.[7] By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was Script error: No such module "convert"..[1] He enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.

Adulthood

File:Wadlow shoe compared.jpg
Wadlow's shoe (US size 37 AA; UK size 36 or approximately European size 75) compared to a US size 12Template:R

Wadlow required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet, but he never used a wheelchair.[8]

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).[9] During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails.[9]

In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge,[10] again only in his everyday street clothes.Template:Sfn Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak.[9] He possessed great physical strength until the last few days of his life.[11]Template:Better source needed

Wadlow belonged to the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men, and was later a Freemason. By November 1939,[12] 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 recorded. On June 27, 1940 (18 days before his death), he was measured by doctors at Script error: No such module "convert"..[1]

Death

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 and he died in his sleep on July 15.Template:Sfn[1]

His coffin measured Script error: No such module "convert". long by Script error: No such module "convert". wide by Script error: No such module "convert". deep, weighed over Script error: No such module "convert"., and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants.[1][13][14] He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Alton, Illinois.

Legacy

A life-size statue of Wadlow was erected opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art in 1986.[1][15] He is one of the Guinness World Records ICONS of 2025.[16]

Height chart

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Height and weight of Robert Wadlow, by age of measurement
Age Height Weight Notes Size of Date
Birth Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert".Template:Sfn Normal height and weight Average newborn February 22, 1918
6 months Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert".Template:Sfn 2-year-old August 22, 1918
1 year Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". When he began to walk at 11 months, he was Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". tall and weighed Script error: No such module "convert".. 5-year-old February 22, 1919
18 months Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert".[17] 8-year-old August 22, 1919
2 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 10-year-old 1920
3 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 12-year-old 1921
4 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 14-year-old 1922
5 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[17] Script error: No such module "convert".[17] At 5 years of age, attending kindergarten, Wadlow was Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17-year-old boy. 15-year-old 1923
6 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". Height of average adult male (global average). 1924
7 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". Height of average adult male in the United States. 1925
8 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert".[18] Height of average adult male in the Netherlands. 1926
9 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[18] Script error: No such module "convert". Weighing Script error: No such module "convert"., he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor.[19] 1927
10 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[20] Script error: No such module "convert".[20] 1928
11 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 1929
12 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert". 1930
13 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert".[21] World's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of Script error: No such module "convert". per year since birth and wearing size 19 (U.S.) shoes.[22] 1931
14 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 1932
15 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 1933
16 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert". 1934
17 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert". Graduated from high school on January 8, 1936 (not yet 18)[23] Sultan Kösen, who is, as of 2024, the tallest currently living man. 1935
18 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 1936
19 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert".[24] 1937
20 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "convert". 1938
21 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert".[25] 1939
22.4 years Script error: No such module "convert".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Sfn Script error: No such module "convert". At death, he was the world's tallest man, according to Guinness World Records.[2] June 27, 1940

See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b c d e f Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  2. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". at Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b c Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  18. ↑ a b Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  24. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
  25. ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".

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Further reading

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External links

Template:Sister project

Records
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Tallest recognized person ever
1939–present Template:S-ttl/check 		Incumbent

Template:Ripley's Believe It or Not! Template:Authority control

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