From Schoolboy to International Curiosity
In the town of Alton, Illinois, a child was born on February 22, 1918, who would later become the tallest person in recorded history. Robert Pershing Wadlow stood taller than his father by the time he was eight years old. By high school graduation in 1936, he had reached a height of 8 feet 4 inches.
Desks had to be specially built to accommodate him, and his shoe size eventually reached an unprecedented US size 37 AA. His extraordinary growth was due to hypertrophy of the pituitary gland, causing a continuous overproduction of growth hormone.
A Touring Public Figure
Wadlow’s height brought him widespread attention. In 1936, he toured the United States with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Despite pressure from the circus, he insisted on wearing ordinary clothes and performed only in the center ring, refusing to appear in the sideshow.
In 1938, he began a promotional campaign with the International Shoe Company, which provided his custom-made shoes at no cost. These tours increased his fame, and he was frequently seen in public, always standing or walking, though he relied on leg braces and had limited sensation in his lower limbs.
Measured as the Tallest Human Ever
In June 1940, just 18 days before his death, Wadlow was measured by doctors at 8 feet 11.1 inches tall. At that time, he surpassed all previous verified height records.
He weighed 439 pounds and had never stopped growing. Though he often appeared before large audiences, he considered his work with the shoe company a professional advertising role, not a display act.
Final Days and Death
During a public appearance on July 4, 1940, at the Manistee National Forest Festival in Michigan, a poorly fitted leg brace caused a blister on Wadlow’s ankle. The wound became infected. Despite surgery and blood transfusions, the infection spread. He died in his sleep on July 15, 1940, at age 22.
His coffin was 10 feet 9 inches long and weighed over 1,000 pounds. It required twelve pallbearers and eight assistants to carry it. Wadlow was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in his hometown of Alton, Illinois, where he had lived all his life.
Born in 1918 in Alton, Illinois, Robert Wadlow would grow to become the tallest man ever recorded.
By his late teens, he was over eight feet (2.44 m) tall.
His extraordinary size brought fame, medical attention, and eventually tragedy—all by age 22…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/A8errU4qvx
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) August 10, 2025