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Aurelio "Al" Tomaini (February 25, 1912 – August 30, 1962), was once the world's tallest person. Tomaini claimed a height of , weighed and wore size 26 shoes. He worked as a traveling 
There he became active in community affairs. He was owner and operator of Giant's Camp lodge and Fish Camp, a television repair shop and a tourist trailer court. He also worked as fire chief and president of the Gibsonton Fire Association.
He died in 1962 and was buried at Samford Cemetery in Florida.
tomaini.com
People with gigantism 1912 births 1962 deaths Sideshow performers American circus performers People from Long Branch, New Jersey People from Gibsonton, Florida {{US-entertainer-stub
sideshow
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...
performer and fire chief
A fire chief or fire commissioner is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department.
Nomenclature
Various official English-language titles for a fire chief include ''fire chief'', ''chief fire officer'' and ''fire commissioner ...
.
Tomaini was the son of Santo Tomaini and Maria Bossone. At the age of 12, he was taller than his father, who stood tall. He had a great-grandfather in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
who was also of abnormal height. His parents consulted a physician who diagnosed the cause of his giantism to be an over-active pituitary gland
The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, the pituitary gland is located at the base of the human brain, brain, protruding off the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus contr ...
, similar to other human giants.
As a sideshow performer, he worked in a circus at the Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
in 1943, when he met his future wife, Jeanie Smith. After eloping from the circus, the couple settled in the circus community of Gibsonton, Florida.
There he became active in community affairs. He was owner and operator of Giant's Camp lodge and Fish Camp, a television repair shop and a tourist trailer court. He also worked as fire chief and president of the Gibsonton Fire Association.
He died in 1962 and was buried at Samford Cemetery in Florida.
References
External links
*tomaini.com
People with gigantism 1912 births 1962 deaths Sideshow performers American circus performers People from Long Branch, New Jersey People from Gibsonton, Florida {{US-entertainer-stub