Adam Rainer

Adam Rainer (22 February 1899 – 4 March 1950) was an Austrian man who is the only person in recorded history to have been both a dwarf and a giant. He is believed to have had acromegaly.

Biography Dwarfism Adam Rainer was born in Graz, Austria-Hungary (present-day Austria), on 22 February 1899. As a child, Rainer was described as very small, thin, and weak. In 1917, at age 18, he was measured at . He therefore was refused entry into the Austro-Hungarian Army to take part in World War I. A typical defining characteristic of dwarfism is an adult height below .

Gigantism Several years later, likely as a result of a pituitary tumor that was identified later, Rainer had a dramatic growth spurt. Between his early 20s to early 30s, he gained height at the average rate of 9.14 cm (3.16 in) per year. He went from shoe size 43 (US shoe size 10) at age 19 to size 57.5 (US 20) only three years later.

Two doctors examined Rainer in detail between August 1930 and May 1931, at which time his height was . A benign pituitary adenoma was found, which was responsible for the enormous growth. Dr. Oskar Hirsch removed the adenoma.