Robert Pershing Wadlow the tallest man alive (1918–1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, 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 hyperglycemia 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 his graduation from Alton high school in 1936, he was 8 ft 4 in 254 cm He enrolled in shuffler college with the intention of studying law.
later years 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 circuses 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 year of his life, when his strength and health in general began to deteriorate rapidly.
Wadlow's shoe (us size 37 AA) compared to a size 12
Wadlow belonged to the Order of Demo lay, 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 Oak wood Cemetery in upper Alton, Madison county Illinois.
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