behemoth

Feb. 22, 1918: A Really Big Kid From Alton, Illinois

By Tony Long 02.22.08 | 12:00 AM

Robert Pershing Wadlow, at age 13 stands with his father, Harold. Harold is 5 feet, 11 inches tall. Robert stands 7 feet, 4 inches.
Image: Bettmann/Corbis

1918: Robert Pershing Wadlow is born in Alton, Illinois. At the time of his death 22 years later, he stands 8 feet 11 inches, making him the tallest human being in recorded history.

Wadlow, the oldest of five children born to Harold and Addie Wadlow, was a normal-sized newborn (8 pounds, 6 ounces) who began his rapid growth almost immediately. At 6 months old, he weighed 30 pounds, and at 18 months he was tipping the scales at 62 pounds. The statistics only get more startling:

Wadlow was a 6-footer at the age of 8. At 10, he was 6 feet 5 inches and weighed 210 pounds. At 13, he was "the world's tallest Boy Scout," standing 7 feet 4 inches. He was 17 when he topped 8 feet. At the time of his death, Wadlow stood an inch shy of 9 feet, weighed 440 pounds -- and was still growing.

Wadlow had designs on studying law, but a 1936 tour with the Ringling Bros. Circus made him a celebrity, and he spent the rest of his short life making public appearances. His placid nature earned him the nickname "Gentle Giant."

As might be expected, Wadlow's enormous size put a lot of strain on him physically. He required leg braces to walk and had very little feeling in his lower extremities.

Yet when death came, it was only tangentially associated to his condition. One of his leg braces caused a leg blister to form, which became severely infected. Despite blood transfusions and surgery, Wadlow's condition worsened, and he died July 15, 1940. He was entombed in a coffin weighing 1,000 pounds, requiring a dozen pallbearers and eight other assistants.

The reason for Wadlow's incredible growth, finally revealed at the autopsy, was found to be hypertrophy of the pituitary gland. The effect of that condition on the pituitary gland results in excessive production of growth hormone.

The tallest person currently living is believed to be the 8-foot-6-inch Leonid Stadnyk, a veterinary surgeon from Ukraine.

Posted by Madame Lamb on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 10:01 PM