Robert Wadlow
Robert Pershing Wadlow | |
|---|---|
| File:Robert Wadlow.jpg Robert Wadlow compared to his father, Harold Franklin Wadlow (±1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)) | |
| Born | February 22, 1918 |
| Died | July 15, 1940 (aged 22) |
| Cause of death | Infection |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Alton High School |
| Alma mater | Shurtleff College |
| Known for | Tallest verified human being |
| Height | 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[3] |
| Parent(s) | Harold Franklin Wadlow Addie Johnson |
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940) is the tallest person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow is sometimes known as the Alton Giant or Giant of Illinois because he was born and grew up in Alton, Illinois.[1][2]
Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[3][4][5] 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 hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.
Early life
Robert Pershing Wadlow was born to Addie Johnson and Harold Wadlow in Alton, Illinois on February 5, 1918, and was the oldest of five children. During elementary school, they had to make a special desk for him because of his size. Wadlow was also the world's tallest Boy Scout.[6] In 1936, after graduating from Alton High School, he enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law. By the time he had graduated from college, he was 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m).[2]
Later years
Wadlow's size began to take its toll: he required leg braces to walk, and had little feeling in his legs and feet. Despite these difficulties, Wadlow never used a wheelchair.
Wadlow was an American celebrity; he was well-known owing to his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and his 1938 promotional tour with the INTERCO. He continued participating in tours and public appearances, though only in his normal street clothes. His shoes were provided to him free of charge by a shoe company for which he did promotional work and appearances.[7] Examples still exist in several locations throughout the US, including Snyder's Shoe Store of Ludington and Manistee, Michigan, and the Alton Museum of History and Art.
Wadlow was the world's tallest Freemason. In 1939, he petitioned Franklin Lodge #25 in Alton, Illinois, and by late November of that year[8] was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F & A.M. Wadlow's Freemason ring was the largest ever made.
One year before his death, he passed John Rogan as the tallest person ever. On June 27, 1940 (eighteen days before his death), he was measured at 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) by doctors C. M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde of Washington University in St. Louis.
Death
On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, causing a blister and subsequent infection. Doctors treated him with a blood transfusion and emergency surgery, but his condition worsened, and on July 15, 1940, he died in his sleep at age 22.
Around 5,000 people attended Wadlow's funeral on July 19.[1] He was buried in the world's longest 10-foot-long (3.0 m), half-ton coffin that required twelve pallbearers to carry and was interred in a vault of solid concrete. It was believed that Wadlow's family members were concerned for the sanctity of his body after his death, and wanted to ensure it would not be disturbed or stolen.
Today
A life-size statue of Wadlow stands on College Avenue in Alton, opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art. The statue was erected in 1986 in honor of the hometown native.[2][9] Another statue of him stands in The Guinness Museum in Niagara Falls, and others are at several of the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums. A group of six life-size models, made before his death by artist James Butler, exist, and are shipped and displayed in replica caskets.[10]
He is still affectionately known as the "Gentle Giant."[11]
In music
The 1998 song "The Giant of Illinois," by The Handsome Family (and later covered by Andrew Bird) honors Wadlow. In 2005 Sufjan Stevens recorded "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" about Wadlow for the Illinois album. A picture of Wadlow with his family is featured on the back cover of the VHS version of the Talking Heads music video compilation, Storytelling Giant.
Height chart
| Age | Height | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 8 lb 6 oz (3.8 kg) | Normal height. | |
| 5 | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | 105 pounds (48 kg)* | |
| 8 | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 169 lb (77 kg) | |
| 10 | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | |
| 11.5 | 6 ft 10.5 in (2.10 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Weight is approximate. |
| 12 | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | |
| 13 | 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 301 lb (137 kg) | World's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of 4 inches (10 cm) per year since birth, wearing size 25 (U.S.) shoes.[11] |
| 16 | 7 ft 10.5 in (2.40 m) | 374 lb (170 kg) | |
| 17 | 8 ft 1.5 in (2.48 m) | 315 lb (143 kg) | Weight is approximate. |
| 18 | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) | ||
| 19 | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) | 480 lb (220 kg) | |
| 21 | 8 ft 9.5 in (2.68 m) | 491 lb (223 kg) | |
| 22 | 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) | 439 lb (199 kg) | At death, Robert Wadlow is the world's tallest man according to the Guinness World Records.[3] |
See also
- List of tallest people
- Sultan Kösen, the world's tallest living man
- Brenden Adams, the world's tallest teen now
- Zeng Jinlian, the tallest woman who ever lived
References
- ^ a b c "Biography for Robert Wadlow". IMDB. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Robert Pershing Wadlow". Alton Museum of History and Art. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Tallest Man". Guinness World Records. March 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) at Wayback machine - ^ "World's Tallest Man". http://www.worldslargestthings.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Robert Wadlow, World's Tallest Man, Alton Illinois". Roadside America. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ Colombraro, Rosemarie (2007). "The World's tallest Boy Scout". Boys' Life, Feb 2007: 24–25.
- ^ Drimmer, Frederick (1991). "The Tallest Man in the World". Born different : amazing stories of very special people. New York: Bantam. p. 60. ISBN 055315897X.
- ^ Robert Wadlow "worlds tallest man, worlds tallest mason" Illinois Freemasonry Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 2009 p.5
- ^ Brannan, Dan (2010-07-14). "Wadlow died 70 years ago Thursday". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ "The King of Giants". The World's Strangest Mysteries. New York: Gallery Books. 1987. p. 702. ISBN 0-8317-9678-2.
- ^ a b Colombraro, Rosemarie (2007). "The world's tallest Boy Scout". Boys' Life (February 2007): 24–25.
Further reading
- Brannan, Dan. (2003) Boy Giant. Alton Museum of History and Art.
- Fadner, Frederic, assisted by Harold F. Wadlow. (1944) The gentleman giant; the biography of Robert Pershing Wadlow. Boston, B. Humphries, Inc.
- Hamilton, Sandra. (1993) Looking back and up: At Robert Pershing Wadlow, The Gentle Giant. Alton Museum of History and Art.
- Phillips, Jennifer. (2010) "Robert Wadlow--The Unique Life of the Boy Who Became the World's Tallest Man." Nose in a Book Publishing.
External links
