Robert Wadlow

Also known as Robert Pershing Wadlow, Alton Giant, Giant of Illinois

American who was the tallest recorded person in history

AI overview

Robert Wadlow was an American man who holds the record as the tallest person ever documented in history. His extraordinary height makes him a notable figure in medical and historical records, as his case has been studied to understand the physical conditions and challenges associated with extreme human growth.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Robert
Family name: Wadlow
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Alton
Place of death: Manistee
Occupation: circus performer
Languages spoken: English language
Mass: 199
Image: Robert Wadlow postcard (cropped).jpg
Height: 2.72
Residence: Alton

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Commons category: Robert Wadlow
date of birth: 1918-02-22
medical condition: gigantism
manner of death: natural causes
member of: DeMolay International
birth name: Robert Pershing Wadlow
name in native language: Robert Wadlow
date of death: 1940-07-15
cause of death: sepsis

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Encyclopedic overview

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 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) 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).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Robert Wadlow” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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