Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man known for being 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 while his weight reached 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, with a typical birth weight of 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.
He attended Alton High School, where he was involved in the German Club and Camera Club. By the time of his graduation in 1936, he was . 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.& 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 .
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 long by wide by deep, weighed over , 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. He is one of the Guinness World Records ICONS of 2025.
Exhibits dedicated to Wadlow are featured in many Ripley's Believe It or Not! attractions, each featuring a life-size wax or animatronic figure of him.
Height chart
+Height and weight of Robert Wadlow, by age of measurement Age Height Weight Notes Size of Date 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 .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, Wadlow was tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17-year-old boy.15-year-old1923 6 yearsHeight of average adult male (global average).1924 7 yearsHeight of average adult male in the United States.1925 8 yearsHeight of average adult male in the Netherlands.1926 9 yearsWeighing , he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor.1927 10 years1928 11 years1929 12 years1930 13 yearsWorld's tallest Boy Scout 1931 14 years 1932 15 years 1933 16 years1934 17 yearsGraduated from high school on January 8, 1936 (not yet 18)Sultan Kösen, who is, as of 2024, the tallest currently living man.1935 18 years1936 19 years1937 20 years1938 21 years1939 22.4 yearsAt death, he was the world's tallest man, according to Guinness World Records. at Wayback MachineJune 27, 1940
See also Acromegaly Gigantism List of tallest people Trijntje Keever, the alleged tallest woman in recorded history Zeng Jinlian, the tallest woman officially confirmed by Guinness World Records in recorded history Sultan Kösen, the tallest man alive Siddiqa Parveen Adam Rainer, the only known human ever to be documented as both a dwarf and a giant
References
Further reading
External links
Footage of Robert Wadlow Alton Museum of History and Art article Graveyards.com: Upper Alton Cemetery