Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man. He is the tallest person in

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world h ...

for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow was born and raised in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri. Wadlow's height was while his weight reached at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertro ...

of his

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 ...

, which results in an abnormally high level of

human growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

(HGH).

Early life

Wadlow was born in

, 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 age 8, and in elementary school a special desk was made for him. He was involved in a school German and Camera club before his graduation. By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was . He enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.

Adulthood

Wadlow required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet, but he never used a wheelchair. Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the

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 ...

). During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails. In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge, again only in his everyday street clothes. Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak. He possessed great physical strength until the last few days of his life. Wadlow belonged to the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men, and was later a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. By November 1939, Wadlow was a Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. and A.M. One year before his death, Wadlow passed John Rogan as the tallest person ever recorded. On June 27, 1940 (18 days before his death), he was measured by doctors at .

Death

On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, leading to

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

. He was treated with a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

and surgery, but his condition worsened and he died in his sleep on July 15. His coffin measured long by wide by deep, weighed over , and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in

Legacy

A life-size statue of Wadlow was erected opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art in 1986. He is one of the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

ICONS of 2025.

Height chart

References

External links

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Footage of Robert Wadlow

Alton Museum of History and Art article

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadlow, Robert 1918 births 1940 deaths American circus performers American people of English descent Infectious disease deaths in Michigan People from Alton, Illinois People with gigantism Shurtleff College alumni World record holders Ripley's Believe It or Not!