Robert
Pershing Wadlow sometimes
known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, is the tallest
person in history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. The Alton and Illinois monikers reflect the fact that he was
born and grew up in Alton, Illinois.
Wadlow reached
8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) in
height and weighed 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great
size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hyperplasia 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.
John William "Bud" Rogan is one of 17 known people in medical history to reach a height of 8 feet (2.44 m) or more and he is also the second tallest person ever, after Robert Wadlow.
He was born in Sumner
County, Tennessee, between 1865 and 1868, the fourth of twelve children,
fathered by former slave William Rogan. His mother might have not been William
Rogan's wife and his mother's name remains unknown. Rogan began to grow very
rapidly at the age of 13, leading to ankylosis. Having
been able to walk only on crutches, by 1882, he could not stand or walk. By
1899, he had grown to a height of 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) and often appeared in
newspapers, referred to as the "Negro giant". He got around on a goat
cart he had made for himself and was always the center of attention, often
noted for his extremely deep voice and playful attitude. Although he could not
work, he made a living by selling portraits and postcards of himself at the
train station.
3. Trijntje Keever 8 feet 4 inches (April 10 or 16, 1616
– July 22, 1633)
Trijntje Cornelisdochter Keever, nicknamed De Groote Meid (in English, The Big Girl), is alleged to be the tallest female person in recorded history, standing 9 Amsterdam feet or 2.54 metres (8 ft 4 in tall at the time of her death at age seventeen.
Trijntje Keever was the daughter of Cornelis
Keever and Anna Pouwels. Cornelis was a Dutch skipper and Anna was his maid; he
married her on May 24, 1605. Trijntje was born on April 10 or 16, 1616 in Edam.
Trijntje’s parents took her to carnivals to
earn some money by letting people see her. Trijntje first received public
attention when she was nine years old and had reached the height of 2 metres
(6 ft 7 in). A royal company consisting of the Bohemian king Frederick
V, Elector Palatine,
his wifeElizabeth of Bohemia and the princess Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, living in The Hague at the time, visited
her, curious about the “nine-year-old girl taller than every man in Europe.”
4. Don Koehler 8 feet 2 inches(September
1, 1925 – February 26, 1981)
Donald A. Koehler is one of thirteen individuals in medical history to reach a
verified height of eight feet (244 cm) or more. He was generally
recognized as the tallest man in the world from at least 1969 until his death
in 1981. At one time, Koehler stood 249 cm (8' 2") tall, a result of
the medical condition acromegalic gigantism.
5. Zeng Jinlian 8 feet 1.75 inches (June 25, 1964 – February 13, 1982)
Zeng Jinlian (simplified Chinese: 曾金莲; traditional Chinese: 曾金蓮; pinyin: Zēng Jīnlián; was the tallestwoman ever verified in medical history, taking over Jane Bunford's record. Zeng is also the only woman counted among the fourteen people who have reached verified heights of eight feet or more.
At the time of her death at the age of 17 in Hunan, China, Zeng, who would have been 8 feet, 1.75 inches tall (she could not stand straight because of a severely deformed spine), was the tallest person in the world.
6. Sultan Kosen 8 feet 1.5 inches
Sultan Kösen (pronounced [suɫtɑn køsen]; born 10 December 1982 in Mardin, Turkey) holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living male at 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in).
His growth has resulted from a tumour
affecting his pituitary gland. His stature is such that he must
use crutches in order to walk. Kösen lives with his parents, three brothers
and sister, who are all of normal height. He was unable to complete his
schooling because of his height and works part-time as a farmer. Despite his height he claims to enjoy
a normal lifestyle and enjoys playing computer games with his friends. He describes the advantages of being
tall as seeing a great distance and being able to help his family with domestic
tasks such as changing light bulbs and hanging curtains. He lists disadvantages
as not being able to find clothes (inside leg measuring 44.5 inches
(113 cm) and sleeve length measuring 38 inches (97 cm) or shoes (size
28) that fit or finding it
extremely hard to fit into an average-sized car.
7. Väinö Myllyrinne 8 feet 1.25 inches (27
February 1909– 13 April 1963)
Väinö Myllyrinne was an acromegalic giant who was at one time (1961–1963) the world's tallest person. He stood 222 cm (7 feet 3.4 inches) and weighed 197 kg (31 stone) at the age of 21, but experienced a second phase of growth in his late thirties, attaining a height of 251 cm (8 feet 3 inches).
8. Zhao Liang 8 feet 1.1 inches
Zhao Liang is a circus performer from Henan in China. In April 2009, doctors in Tianjin measured his height
at 2.46 m (8 ft 0.9 in). If confirmed, this would make him
the second tallest living person after Sultan Kösen, but taller than
previous record holder Bao Xishun who has been measured by theGuinness World
Records as 2.36 m
(7 ft 9 in). Leonid Stadnyk, reported to be
2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) tall, briefly held the title, but was
disqualified due to his refusal to be measured.
Zhao
played basketball until ligament damage to his left foot in 2001. His 2009 hospital trip related to this
injury as he was too poor to have it treated sooner. Despite advising Zhao Liang against
any intense physical exercise, Zhao's surgeon has declared that he has no
health issues related to his height. His
parents and siblings are average height, though his grandfather was 2 m
(6 ft 6 1⁄2 in). Zhao grew 10 cm a year till age
23. 
9. Gabriel Estêvão Monjane 8 feet 1 inches (1944 – 1990)
Gabriel Estêvão
Monjane is one of only thirteen individuals in
medical history to have reached eight feet or more in height.
Born in Manjacaze, Gaza Province, Mozambique, Monjane's abnormal
growth, attributed to an overactive pituitary gland, started soon after
birth. By the time he was 17, Monjane stood 7 feet 10 inches. He joined a Portuguese circus around this age, and
was billed as 8 feet 8.3 inches. When measured officially in 1987, Monjane
was attributed with the height of 8 feet and three quarters of an inch. He also
weighed 418 pounds.
During his lifetime, especially late into his
life, Monjane suffered leg problems and was once crippled after falling and
breaking his hip. The Guinness
Book of World Records stated that he was
the tallest living man in their 1988 edition.
10. Suleiman Ali Nashnush 8 feet .5 inches
Suleiman Ali
Nashnush is one of
seventeen individuals in medical history to
reach or surpass eight feet in height. He was a Libyan basketball player and actor. In 1960, he successfully underwent surgery to correct
his abnormal growth. He was one of the tallest basketball players ever at
8'0½" (245 cm) though when he played basketball he was closer to
7'10" (239 cm) and played for Libya.
Nashnush also had a small role in Federico Fellini's film Satyricon where he played the role of
Tryphaena's attendant. He died on February
25, 1991.
