Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940) was a man who, to this day, is the tallest person in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He is often known as the "Alton Giant" because of his Alton, Illinois hometown. Robert Wadlow reached 8 feet 11.1 inches (272 cm) in height and weighed 490 pounds (220 kg) at his death. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood was due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death. Read more about Robert Wadlow...

Zeng Jinlian - The Tallest Woman ever

Zeng Jinlian (June 26, 1964 – February 13, 1982) was the tallest female ever recorded in medical history, taking Jane Bunford's record. Zeng Jinlian is also the only female counted among the 16 individuals in medical history who reached a verified eight feet or more. At the time of her death at the age of 17 she was 8 feet 1.75 inches (248.3 cm) tall. However, she could not stand up straight due to a severely deformed spine. Read more about Zeng Jinlian...

Sultan Kosen - The Tallest Man alive

The tallest living man officially measured by Guinness World Records (Guinness Book of Records) is Sultan Kosen from Turkey, with a height of 8 feet 3 inches (251.4 cm) tall. Sultan Kosen was last measured in February 2011 and found to still be growing. Read more about Sultan Kosen...

Sun Fang - The Tallest Woman alive?

The tallest living woman is probably Sun Fang from China, who is 7 feet 3 inches (221 cm) tall. Read more about Sun Fang...

However, others have claimed to be even taller. People of extreme height have always been exaggerating their true height. In history many giants have claimed to be the tallest man alive, or even the tallest man ever. Some of the circus, sideshow and freakshow giants did not allow themselves to be measured. TheTallestMan.com tries to give you the truth about the tallest people who ever lived and build a community for Giant enthusiasts as well as a online meeting place for collectors of postcards, photos, newspaper clippings, videos, shoes, films and other memorabilia of giants from the past and present.

If you are interested in discussions about giants, extremely tall people, related subjects like acromegaly and gigantism and would like to share your own opinion why not join our The Tallest Man message board and join in!

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. The Tallest Man Fact 1

But does this mean that they always get it right? When Norris and Ross McWhirter were involved with the book the record for The Tallest Man in the world was an important record with a the first few pages of every edition dedicated to it. Since the late 1980's the Tallest Man record seems just one of the many records, with only one or two lines devoted to it. Maybe this will change, now they have found a new tall flagship in Sultan Kosen and they will regard the record of the tallest man in the world as the mother of all records once again.

Pituitary gigantism

Pituitary gigantism due to growth hormone excess is the single condition which accounts for nearly all cases of pathologic extreme height. The excess growth hormone usually results from oversecretion by a group of somatotrope cells of the anterior pituitary gland (termed a "somatotrope adenoma"). These cells do not respond to normal controls of growth or function. They grow very slowly, so that for many years the only effects of such an adenoma are the effects of excessive growth hormone. Read more about Pituitary gigantism.

Acromegaly

The primary effect of growth hormone excess in childhood is excessive growth, but the tallness is accompanied by a characteristic body build recognizable to an endocrinologist. The typical body build involves heavy, thick bones, with large hands and feet and a heavy jaw. Once puberty is complete and adult height is achieved, continued thickening of the skin and growth of the jaw results in a combination of features referred to as acromegaly. Unfortunately, over decades such an adenoma may reach a large enough size (2 cm or more in diameter) to cause headaches, impair vision, or damage other pituitary functions. Read more about Acromegaly.

Eunuchoid tallness

Hypogonadism is the condition of deficiency of sex hormones due to reduced function of the testes or ovaries at adolescence. When secretion of testosterone or estradiol remains below average throughout the teenage years, a taller adult height will be gradually achieved by extra growth of the arms and legs. This long-limbed tallness is termed "eunuchoid" tallness, but rarely adds more than 1-3 inches (2.5-7.5 cm) to adult height. The extra growth is prevented if the child is given appropriate replacement of testosterone or estrogen from early adolescence. Read more about Eunuchoid tallness.

Eunuchoidal-infantile gigantism

A very rare but more extreme version of "eunuchoid" tallness is called eunuchoidal-infantile gigantism and occurs when a mutation of the estrogen receptor reduces the response of the bones to estradiol. Estradiol is a byproduct of testosterone in both males and females and is the most potent accelerator of bone maturation and closure known. If a person fails to respond to estrogen, growth can continue until late 20's or longer, and the affected person can reach 8 feet or more in height. Estrogen resistance is the only other endocrine condition that can rival growth hormone excess in producing gigantism. Eunuchoidal-infantile gigantism is more commonly known as daddy-longlegs syndrome. In contrast, the tallness associated with the more common androgen insensitivity syndrome averages only a few inches. Read more about Eunuchoidal-infantile gigantism.

Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome is an uncommon genetic disease due to an inherited defect of connective tissue. In addition to moderate tallness, persons with this condition usually have a slender body build with unusually long fingers (arachnodactyly). Many can also develop a dislocaton of the lens of the eye or, more seriously, a progressive deterioration of the walls of the aorta which can result in sudden death in adulthood. It is usually inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Read more about Marfan syndrome.

Sotos syndrome

Sotos syndrome resembles acromegaly in its mild distortion of facial growth. In addition to tallness, the chief characteristics are large head size, below average intelligence, and autosomal dominant inheritance. Read more about Sotos syndrome.

Quick Tallest Man Links

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New on The Tallest Man

02-08-2015: Image(s) of Abdramane Dembele added.

28-07-2015: Image(s) of Arshavir Grigoryan added.

26-07-2015: Image(s) of Dalibor Micic added.

30-03-2015: Image(s) of Alam Channa added.

08-03-2015: Image(s) of Hussain Bisad added.

15-02-2015: Image(s) of Jack Earle added.

13-02-2015: Page for Robert Bobroczky added.

12-02-2015: Page for Taco Fall added.

03-02-2015: Image(s) for Bernard Coyne and Elias Gore added.

02-02-2015: Image(s) for Mahmoud Lotfi, Don Koehler, Zhang Jun-Cai and Ralph Madsen added.

01-02-2015: Postcard of Jakob Murdel added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Thomas Dalroy and John McLean added.

31-01-2015: Page for Rafael França do Nascimento and Nikolai Pankratov added. Image(s) of Don Koehler added.

30-01-2015: Page for Abdramane Dembele added.

29-01-2015: Image(s) of Don Koehler added.

22-07-2014: Image(s) of Max Palmer, John Aasen, Don Koehler, Christopher Greener, Clifford Thompson, Jakob Nacken and Jack Earle added.

21-07-2014: Image(s) of Lock Martin added.

06-03-2013: Image(s) of Ted Evans added. Video(s) about Sultan Kösen added.

05-03-2013: Image(s) of Ri Myong-hun, Väinö Myllyrinne and Zhang Jun-Cai added.

31-10-2012: Image(s) of Viktor Prenner added.

28-10-2012: Image(s) of George Page and Meadows Page added.

27-10-2012: Image(s) of Don Koehler, Clifford Thompson, Ted Evans, Gilbert Reichert, Ralph Madsen and Max Palmer added.

23-10-2012: Image(s) of Christopher Greener and Frederick Decker added.

16-10-2012: Image(s) of Clive Darril added. Video(s) about Albert Johan Kramer added.

28-09-2012: Image(s) of Don Koehler and Sunil Kumar Panda added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Patrick Cotter O'Brien added.

16-09-2012: Image(s) of Richard Kiel and Hee Sen Balling added. Video(s) about Andre the Giant added.

11-09-2012: Image(s) of Albert Johan Kramer, Naseer Soomro and Sultan Kösen added.

06-09-2012: Image(s) of Robert Wadlow - early years, Ijaz Ahmed and General Articles added.

05-09-2012: Image(s) of Rolf Mayr, Julius Koch, Robert Wadlow - later years and Yao Ming added. Video(s) about Mu Tie-Zhu added.

04-09-2012: Image(s) of Eugene Arceau and Henry Mullens added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jaime Clemente added.

22-08-2012: Image(s) of Cashmere Giant and Tran Thanh Pho added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Agustin Luengo Capilla added.

20-08-2012: Page for Dalibor Micic added. Image(s) of Anton de Franckenpoinct added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jim Tarver and Eddie Carmel added. Video(s) about Jack Earle added.

19-08-2012: Image(s) of Gilbert Reichert added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jakob Murdel added. Video(s) about Richard Kiel and Andre the Giant added.

15-08-2012: Image(s) of Yao Ming added. Video(s) about Gheorghe Muresan added.

08-08-2012: Image(s) of Zhaoxu Zhang and John F. Carroll added.

05-08-2012: Image(s) of Christopher Greener added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Robert Wadlow added.

03-08-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen added.

02-08-2012: Image(s) of Fernand Bachelard, Ralph Madsen and Ri Myong-hun added.

01-08-2012: Image(s) of John Paul Ofwono, Robert Wadlow - later years, Mu Tie-Zhu and Hussain Bisad added. Video(s) about Dave Rasmussen added.

27-07-2012: Image(s) of Wade Halbrook added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Fernand Bachelard, Ole Andreas Hansen and Lewis Wilkins added. Biography of Ole Andreas Hansen added.

23-07-2012: Image(s) of Ole Andreas Hansen and Sun Ming Ming added.

21-07-2012: Image(s) of Sun Ming Ming and Richard Kiel added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Ted Evans, Albert Johan Kramer, William Witte and Donald McGregor added.

20-07-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Rob Bruintjes, Clive Darril, Kaatje van Dyk, Albert Johan Kramer and Robert Wadlow added. Video(s) about Chang Chin-kuo, Brahim Takioullah and Sultan Kösen added.

18-07-2012: Image(s) of Walter Tatake Quisbert and Brahim Takioullah added. Video(s) about Brahim Takioullah added.

15-07-2012: Image(s) of Chang Woo-Gow added. Video(s) about Sultan Kösen, Paul Sturgess and Rolf Mayr added.

14-07-2012: Image(s) of Alam Channa, Azad Khan Masood, Hussain Bisad and Naseer Soomro added.

13-07-2012: Page for Siddiqa Parvin added. Image(s) of Yao Ming and Arvydas Sabonis added. Video(s) about Matt McGrory and John Aasen added.

11-07-2012: Image(s) of Hong Man Choi, Mounir Fourar, Sami Eerola, Jaber Rouzbahani, Matt McGrory, Sultan Kösen and Neil Fingleton added. Video(s) about Hong Man Choi added.

04-07-2012: Image(s) of Robert Wadlow, Zhao Liang and Gottlieb Fischer added.

03-07-2012: Image(s) of Rigardus Rijnhout added.

30-06-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen added.

29-06-2012: Page for Virginie Beauchamp added. Image(s) of Paul Sturgess added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Charles Lampman and Bridget McDonald added.

27-06-2012: Image(s) of Henry Mullens added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Captain Smith Cook and Henri Cot added.

26-06-2012: Image(s) of Ramazan Karageyik and Conrad Furrows added. Video(s) about Mounir Fourar added.

23-06-2012: Image(s) of Eddie Carmel added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jack Earle added.

21-06-2012: Page for Ralph Drollinger added.

18-06-2012: Image(s) of Chang Woo-Gow and Sultan Kösen in Germany added.

16-06-2012: Image(s) of Zhang Jun-Cai, Abdul Jabber and Asdrúbal Herrera Mora added. Video(s) about Sultan Kösen and Robert Wadlow added.

14-06-2012: Image(s) of Ghulam Shabbir added. Video(s) about Sandy Allen and Johann Petursson added.

13-06-2012: Image(s) of Joélisson Fernandes da Silva and Paul Sturgess added.

12-06-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen, Marianne Wehde, Erwin Johnson, Baptiste Hugo and Malee Duangdee added. Video(s) about Sultan Kösen and Malee Duangdee added.

09-06-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen and Maria Scheller added.

08-06-2012: Page for Roger Morrissey added. Video(s) about Paul Sturgess, Igor Vovkovinskiy and Alexander Sizonenko added.

07-06-2012: Video(s) about Denis Albino and Sultan Kösen added.

06-06-2012: Image(s) of Suparwono, Ghulam Shabbir, Ijaz Ahmed and Sun Ming Ming added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Kaatje van Dyk added. Video(s) about Margarito Machahuay Varela and Richard Kiel added.

02-06-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Ted Evans, Margo Dydek, Angelina Melius, General Articles and Uljana Semjonova added.

01-06-2012: I have started adding 'random facts' to the website. An example can be seen on the frontpage. So far there are 9 random facts, but this number will slowly increase.

30-05-2012: Image(s) of Igor Vovkovinskiy, Brahim Takioullah, Bernardo Gilli, Maximillian Miller and Alexander Sizonenko added. Video(s) about Igor Vovkovinskiy added.

29-05-2012: Image(s) of Maria Fassnauer added.

28-05-2012: Page for Johannes Sander added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jakob Nacken and Kaatje van Dyk added.

26-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Frank Wilcox, Balahu, Väinö Myllyrinne, Uljana Semjonova and Jim Tarver added.

25-05-2012: Image(s) of Ralph Madsen, Maria Scheller and Sandy Allen added.

24-05-2012: Page for Percival Horton added. Image(s) of Erhard Weller, Johann Petursson, Ijaz Ahmed, Hassan Ali and Leonid Stadnyk added. Video(s) about Erhard Weller added.

21-05-2012: Page for Embret Pedersen, MacQuail, Mr. Thomson and Asadulla Khan added.

19-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Erhard Weller, Patrick Cotter O'Brien, Christopher Greener, Lewis Wilkins, Albert Johan Kramer, Alexander Sizonenko and Charles Byrne added.

18-05-2012: Image(s) of Igor Vovkovinskiy, Radhouane Charbib and Aurangzeb Khan added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Fernand Bachelard and Erhard Weller added. Video(s) about Paul Sturgess added.

17-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Johann Petursson added.

16-05-2012: Image(s) of Elfriede Fischer and Gottlieb Fischer added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Gabriel Monjane and Yoshimitsu Matsuzaka added.

15-05-2012: Image(s) of Buck Nolan added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Jim Lanier, Mike Lanier, Jacobus Williams and Alam Channa added.

13-05-2012: Image(s) of Sandy Allen, Leon Henoch and Dan Gerber added.

12-05-2012: Image(s) of Yao Ming added. Video(s) about Rob Bruintjes and Sultan Kösen added.

10-05-2012: Video(s) about Mounir Fourar added.

09-05-2012: Image(s) of Leon Henoch and Konnie Klein added. Video(s) about Leonid Stadnyk added.

08-05-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen added.

07-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Marianne Wehde, Amelia Weston, Priscilla Weston, Aama Bataillard and Elizabeth Lyska added.

05-05-2012: Page for Miss Jane Cobden added. Image(s) of 'Big Gust' Anderson added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Aama Bataillard, Elizabeth Lyska and Clive Darril added.

04-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about The Lapland Giantess added.

03-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Charles Freeman added. Video(s) about Haq Nawaz added.

02-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Robert Wadlow, General Articles, Arthur James Caley and John Middleton added.

01-05-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Frederick Kempster, Henry Alexander Cooper, Franz Winkelmeier, Jarda Marek and Jack Earle added.

29-04-2012: Image(s) of Clifford Thompson added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Clifford Thompson added. Video(s) about Charles Byrne added.

25-04-2012: Page for Jess Noronha and Peter Feketi added. Image(s) of Kurt Zehe and J.W. Patterson added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Ed Wolff, Dora Helms, Milas Shoun and Werner Syre added. Book reference of Charles Freeman added.

24-04-2012: Video(s) of Igor Vovkovinskiy added.

23-04-2012: Image(s) of Victoria Hall, Ellen Bayer, Dave Rasmussen and Igor Vovkovinskiy added.

20-04-2012: Image(s) of Maria Fassnauer and Edouard Beaupré added.

18-04-2012: Image(s) of Leah May, Zhao Liang, Isroil Hushbokov and Zhang Jun-Cai added. Video(s) of Zhang Mengyong and Manute Bol added.

17-04-2012: Image(s) of Manuel Camacho, Feodor Machnow, George Auger and Agustin Luengo Capilla added.

14-04-2012: Acromegalic gigantism, physicians and body snatching. Past or present? by Professor Wouter W. de Herder added.

13-04-2012: Image(s) of Edouard Beaupré, Ewart Potgieter and Yao Ming added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Max Palmer and Henry Johnson added.

12-04-2012: Image(s) of Zhang Jun-Cai added. Video(s) of Sultan Kösen added.

11-04-2012: Image(s) of Lock Martin and Don Koehler added. Video(s) of Brahim Takioullah added.

10-04-2012: Image(s) of Max Palmer, Anna Haining Swan, Martin van Buren Bates and Angus MacAskill added.

07-04-2012: Image(s) of Robert Wadlow - later years and Louis Moilanen added.

05-04-2012: Image(s) of Gheorghe Muresan, Jack Earle and Captain Ureck added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Robert Wadlow added.

04-04-2012: Page for Jose Punlos added. Newspaper clipping(s) about William Robinson added.

03-04-2012: Image(s) of Leah May, Frederick Kempster and Johann Petursson added. Video(s) of Rob Bruintjes added.

02-04-2012: Page for Stefan Grewen added. Image(s) of Dikembe Mutombo and Manute Bol added.

31-03-2012: Image(s) of Viktor Zabolotny and Antonio Fuss added.

30-03-2012: Image(s) of Brahim Takioullah added. Video(s) of Brahim Takioullah added.

28-03-2012: Image(s) of Viktor Zabolotny, Manute Bol, George Bell, Rayford Johnson and Delores Pullard added.

27-03-2012: Image(s) of Robert Wadlow - later years, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Mounir Fourar, Mark Eaton and Frederick Kempster added. Video(s) of Kaliova Seleiwau and Lock Martin added.

26-03-2012: Image(s) of Chuck Nevitt, Lock Martin, Naseer Soomro, Haq Nawaz, Zainab Bibi, Ramazan Karageyik and Jean-Joseph Brice added.

17-03-2012: Image(s) of Brahim Takioullah and Sultan Kösen added.

16-03-2012: Page for Sam Gombya added. Image(s) of Jaber Rouzbahani, Brahim Takioullah and Leonid Stadnyk added.

15-03-2012: Image(s) of Henry Mullens added. Video(s) of Mark Eaton added.

14-03-2012: Image(s) of Sultan Kösen, Brahim Takioullah and Zhang Mengyong added. Video(s) of Zhang Mengyong added.

13-03-2012: Image(s) of Robert Wadlow - later years added.

12-03-2012: Page for Magdalena Cicuta added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Ella Ewing added.

11-03-2012: Image(s) of Don Koehler added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Elias Gore, Aama Bataillard, Jack Earle and James Clancy added.

09-03-2012: Image(s) of Malee Duangdee, Ijaz Ahmed and Yao Defen added.

08-03-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Albert Johan Kramer, Rigardus Rijnhout, Eleanor Wagner, Alam Channa, Musutaman, Leonid Stadnyk, Alexander Sizonenko, Bao Xi Shun and Ijaz Ahmed added.

07-03-2012: Image(s) of Rob Bruintjes added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Rik Smits, Jakob Nacken, Liu Yu-Qing and Serge Zwikker added.

06-03-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Robert Zwaan, Albert Johan Kramer, Rigardus Rijnhout, Christopher Greener, Ted Evans, Suleiman Ali Nashnush, Gabriel Estêvão Monjane, Erhard Weller, Rosa Wedsted, General Articles, Kaatje van Dyk, Dora Helms, Heinz Kleinau and Rob Bruintjes added.

05-03-2012: Image(s) of Gertrude Hall added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Robert Zwaan, Jack Earle and Albert Johan Kramer added. Information about Amalie Schulte added.

04-03-2012: Page for Annie Irwin added.

03-03-2012: Image(s) of Carl Sandell, Damiao Rodrigues and Montana Hank added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Bernardo Gilli and Patrick Cotter O'Brien added.

02-03-2012: Image(s) of Morteza Mehrzad added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Gilbert Reichert added.

01-03-2012: Video(s) of Bao Xi Shun and Zhang Jun-Cai added.

28-02-2012: Image(s) of Morteza Mehrzad and John Aasen added.

27-02-2012: Morteza Mehrzad has been upgraded to 8 feet and 1 inch tall as discussed in this thread on our discussion forum.

25-02-2012: Image(s) of Zhao Liang, Wang Tong Xin and Huang Chang-Chiu added.

24-02-2012: Image(s) of Montana Hank, Henry Johnson, Captain John Creech, Jan Kruminsh, Ijaz Ahmed and Bob Wegner added. Video(s) of Brahim Takioullah and Babu added.

23-02-2012: R.I.P. Suparwono. Page for Martin Ruboga added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Eddie Carmel added.

22-02-2012: Page for Yossi Ben Naim added. Image(s) of Bob Wegner and Homer Parks
added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Ted Evans and John Turner added. Video(s) of Paul Sturgess added. Information about Robert Hales added.

21-02-2012: Image(s) of Bob Wegner, Bao Xi Shun, Gheorghe Muresan, Paul Sturgess, Yasutaka Okayama, Aurangzeb Khan, Zhang Jun-Cai, Hussain Bisad and Mamadou Ndiaye added. Video(s) of Ijaz Ahmed, Sultan Kösen, Yasutaka Okayama and Gheorghe Muresan added.

20-02-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Frederick William Randall Chadwick, Martin Salmerón, Igor Vovkovinskiy and James Patrick Tolley added.

19-02-2012: Page for Peerken van Gorp added.

18-02-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Charles Freeman and Jean Bihin added.

17-02-2012: Image(s) of Feodor Machnow added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Louis Frenz and Angelina Melius added.

16-02-2012: Page for Benjamin Harrison added. Video(s) of Neil Fingleton added.

15-02-2012: Image(s) of Ijaz Ahmed and Felipe Birriel Fernández added.

[....some older news snipped....]

17-06-2009: Installed discussion forum. You can join it here...

12-06-2009: Started building the website.