Robert Wadlow - wikipedia Robert Wadlow Robert Wadlow Photographic postcard of Robert Wadlow compared to his father, Harold Franklin Wadlow, whose height was 5 ft 11.5 in ( 1.82 m ) ( 1918 - 02 - 22 ) February 22, 1918 Alton, Illinois July 15, 1940 ( 1940 - 07 - 15 ) ( aged 22 ) Manistee, Michigan Cause of death Infection Nationality American Education Alton High School Alma mater Shurtleff College Known for Tallest human being ever ( confirmed ) Home town Alton, Illinois Height 8 ft 11.1 in ( 2.72 m ) Weight 490 lb ( 220 kg ) Parent ( s ) Harold Franklin Wadlow Addie Johnson Robert Pershing Wadlow ( February 22, 1918 -- July 15, 1940 ), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American who became famous as the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois. Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in ( 2.72 m ) in height and weighed 490 lb ( 220 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. Contents 1 Early life 2 Later years and death 3 Legacy 4 In music 5 Height chart 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links 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 the age of 8, and in elementary school they had to make a special desk for him due to his size. By the time he had graduated from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 ft 4 in ( 2.54 m ). After graduating he enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law. Later years and death 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, he never used a wheelchair. Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus. In 1938, he did a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company. They provided him his shoes free of charge. Examples of the shoes still exist in several locations throughout the U.S., including Snyder 's Shoe Store of Ludington and Manistee, Michigan, and the Alton Museum of History and Art. He continued participating in tours and public appearances, though only in his normal street clothes. He possessed great physical strength until the last year of his life, when his strength and his health in general began to deteriorate rapidly. Wadlow was a member of the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic - sponsored organization for young men. He was also a Freemason. In 1939, he petitioned Franklin Lodge # 25 in Alton, Illinois, and by late November of that year was raised to the degree of Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. and A.M.. His Freemason ring was the largest ever made. 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 at 8 ft 11.1 in ( 2.72 m ) by doctors C.M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. 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 due to an autoimmune disorder, and on July 15, 1940, 11 days after contracting the infection, he died in his sleep at the age of 22. His coffin measured 10 feet 9 inches ( 3.28 m ) long by 32 inches ( 81 cm ) wide by 30 inches ( 76 cm ) deep, weighed 1,000 pounds ( 450 kg ) and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants. His body was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois. Legacy A life - size statue of Wadlow stands on College Avenue in Alton, opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art. It was erected in 1986, in honor of the well - known native. Others stand in the Guinness Museums in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, as well as several of the Ripley 's Believe It or Not Museums. A group of six life - size models of him, made by artist James Butler, exist, and are shipped and displayed in replica caskets. Another life - size statue of Wadlow may be viewed at Marvin 's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In front of it is a small, quarter - operated `` TV - box '', which plays a short, documentary movie about his extraordinary short life. Wadlow is still affectionately known as the `` Gentle Giant ''. 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 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2016 ) Wadlow 's shoe, size 37 AA ( US, size ) Wadlow 's shoe compared to a size 12 Age Height Weight Notes Size of Year Birth 1 ft 8 in ( 0.51 m ) 8 lb 6 oz ( 3.8 kg ) Normal height and weight Average February 22, 1918 6 Months 2 ft 10.5 in ( 0.88 m ) 30 lb ( 14 kg ) 2 year old August 22, 1918 1 Year 3 ft 6 in ( 1.07 m ) 45 lb ( 20 kg ) When he began to walk at 11 months, he was 3 ft 3.5 in ( 1.00 m ) tall and weighed 40 lbs. 5 year old February 22, 1919 18 Months 4 ft 3 in ( 1.30 m ) 67 lb ( 30 kg ) 8 year old August 22, 1919 2 years 4 ft 6 in ( 1.37 m ) 75 lb ( 34 kg ) 10 year old 1920 3 years 4 ft 11 in ( 1.50 m ) 89 lb ( 40 kg ) 12 year old 1921 4 years 5 ft 3 in ( 1.60 m ) 105 lb ( 48 kg ) 14 year old 1922 5 years 5 ft 4 in ( 1.63 m ) 105 lb ( 48 kg ) At 5 years of age, attending kindergarten, Robert was 5 ' 6 1 / 2 '' tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17 - year - old boy. 15 year old 1923 6 years 5 ft 7 in ( 1.70 m ) 146 lb ( 66 kg ) 15 year old 1924 7 years 5 ft 10 in ( 1.78 m ) 159 lb ( 72 kg ) Height of adult male 1925 8 years 6 ft 0 in ( 1.83 m ) 169 lb ( 77 kg ) 1926 9 years 6 ft 2 in ( 1.88 m ) ) 180 lb ( 82 kg ) Weighing 180 pounds, 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 years 6 ft 5 in ( 1.96 m ) 211 lb ( 96 kg ) 1928 11 years 6 ft 11 in ( 2.11 m ) 241 lb ( 109 kg ) 1929 12 years 7 ft 0 in ( 2.13 m ) 287 lb ( 130 kg ) 1930 13 years 7 ft 3 in ( 2.21 m ) 260 lb ( 120 kg ) World 's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of 4 inches ( 10 cm ) per year since birth and wearing size 19 ( U.S. ) shoes. 1931 14 years 7 ft 5 in ( 2.26 m ) 331 lb ( 150 kg ) 1932 15 years 7 ft 10 in ( 2.39 m ) 354 lb ( 161 kg ) 1933 16 years 7 ft 10 in ( 2.39 m ) 374 lb ( 170 kg ) 1934 17 years 8 ft 3 in ( 2.51 m ) 382 lb ( 173 kg ) Graduated from high school on January 8, 1936 and was 8 ft 3 in ( 2.51 m ). Height of Sultan Kosen, the tallest living man. 1935 18 years 8 ft 4 in ( 2.54 m ) 391 lb ( 177 kg ) 1936 19 years 8 ft 5 in ( 2.57 m ) 480 lb ( 220 kg ) 1937 20 years 8 ft 7 in ( 2.62 m ) 488 lb ( 221 kg ) 1938 21 years 8 ft 8 in ( 2.64 m ) 491 lb ( 223 kg ) 1939 22.4 years 8 ft 11.1 in ( 2.72 m ) 439 lb ( 199 kg ) At death, he was the world 's tallest man according to the Guinness World Records. June 27, 1940 See also Biography portal List of tallest people Sultan Kösen, the world 's tallest living man Brenden Adams, until 2015 the world 's tallest teenager Zeng Jinlian, the tallest woman who ever lived References ^ Jump up to : `` Robert Pershing Wadlow ''. Alton Museum of History and Art. Retrieved March 7, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Tallest Man ''. Guinness World Records. March 19, 2010. Archived from the original on March 19, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010. at Wayback machine ^ Jump up to : `` Robert Pershing Wadlow, The tallest man in the world who ever lived ''. thetallestman.com. June 17, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 50. Jump up ^ `` World 's Tallest Man ''. Worlds Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction. Retrieved May 14, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Robert Wadlow, World 's Tallest Man, Alton Illinois ''. Roadside America. Retrieved March 7, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 60. Jump up ^ Robert Wadlow `` worlds tallest man, worlds tallest mason '' Illinois Freemasonry Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 2009 p. 5 Jump up ^ Drimmer 1991, pp. 68, 70. Jump up ^ `` Tallest man ever ''. Guinness World Records. Jump up ^ Hartzman, Marc ( 2006 ). American sideshow : an encyclopedia of history 's most wondrous and curiously strange performers. New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher / Penguin. p. 432. ISBN 9781440649912. OCLC 460991173. Jump up ^ Brannan, Dan ( July 14, 2010 ). `` Wadlow died 70 years ago Thursday ''. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The King of Giants ''. The World 's Strangest Mysteries. New York : Gallery Books. 1987. p. 702. ISBN 9780831796785. OCLC 17192393. ^ Jump up to : Colombraro, Rosemarie ( February 2007 ). `` Standing tall : he world 's tallest Boy Scout ''. Boys ' Life. Irving, TX : Boy Scouts of America : 24 -- 25. ISSN 0006 - 8608. OCLC 1027475257. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 51. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 52. ^ Jump up to : `` Ten - Year - Olds ''. The Pittsburgh Press. October 28, 1928. p. 39. OCLC 2266185, 9208497, 751750633. Retrieved May 14, 2018. Jump up ^ Drimmer 1991, p. 54. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 55. Jump up ^ Drimmer 1991, p. 56. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 58. ^ Jump up to : Drimmer 1991, p. 66. Jump up ^ Drimmer 1991, pp. 50, 68. Further reading Brannan, Dan ( 2003 ). Boy giant : the story of Robert Wadlow the world 's tallest man. Alton, IL, US : Alton Museum of History and Art. ISBN 9780965022859. OCLC 53210546. Drimmer, Frederick ( 1991 ). `` The Tallest Man in the World ''. Born different : amazing stories of very special people. New York : Bantam. pp. 48 -- 71. ISBN 9780553158977. OCLC 1028856157. Retrieved May 14, 2018. Fadner, Frederic ; Wadlow, Harold F. ( 1944 ). The gentleman giant ; the biography of Robert Pershing Wadlow,. Boston : B. Humphries, Inc. OCLC 4904888. Hamilton, Sandra ( 1993 ). Looking back and up : at Robert Pershing Wadlow, the gentle giant. Alton, IL, US : Alton Museum of History and Art. OCLC 29307342. Phillips, Jennifer ( 2010 ). Robert Wadlow : the unique life of the boy who became the world 's tallest man. Shoreline, WA : Nose in a Book Pub. OCLC 709592729. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Wadlow. Leone, Charles A. ( 1975 ). `` The Story of Robert '' ( documentary film ). YouTube. Turquoise Film / Video Productions. Retrieved May 14, 2018. Footage of Robert Wadlow Alton Museum of History and Art article Graveyards.com : Upper Alton Cemetery Robert Wadlow at Find a Grave Records Preceded by John Rogan Tallest recognized person ever 1939 -- present Incumbent LCCN : no2007088743 VIAF : 36701185 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Wadlow&oldid=846460104 '' Categories : 1918 births 1940 deaths American circus performers American people of English descent Infectious disease deaths in Michigan People from Alton, Illinois People with gigantism Burials in Illinois Shurtleff College alumni Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from May 2018 Wikipedia semi-protected pages Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014 Articles needing additional references from September 2016 All articles needing additional references Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Беларуская Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto فارسی Français Frysk Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Latina Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English کوردی Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt ייִדיש 中文 34 more Edit links This page was last edited on 18 June 2018, at 22 : 32 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the tallest man in the world die
Answer: July 15, 1940