Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – 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. Wadlow's height was 8 ft while his weight reached 439 lbs 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

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. He was involved in a school German and Camera club before his graduation. By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 ft. He enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.

Adulthood

Wadlow required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet, but 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 recorded. On June 27, 1940 (18 days before his death), he was measured by doctors at 8 ft.

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. His coffin measured 10 ft long by 2 ft wide by 2 ft deep, weighed over 1000 lbs, and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants. 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.

Height chart