Robert Wadlow

Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man known for being the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri. while his weight reached at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH).

Early life Wadlow, aged 9, beside a 10-year-old neighbor, circa January 1928.

Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, to Harold Franklin and Addie May (Johnson) Wadlow, with a typical birth weight of 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. His pituitary gland condition was diagnosed at the age of twelve. At the time, corrective surgery was dangerous and not guaranteed to work, so his parents decided against intervening.

He attended Alton High School, where he was involved in the German Club and Camera Club. By the time of his graduation in 1936, he was .

Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the sideshow). During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails. again only in his everyday street clothes. Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak.

Wadlow belonged to the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men, and was later a Freemason. By November 1939, Wadlow was a Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F.& 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 . He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Alton, Illinois.

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 ICONS of 2025.

Exhibits dedicated to Wadlow are featured in many Ripley's Believe It or Not! attractions, each featuring a life-size wax or animatronic figure of him.

Height chart