Robert Wadlow is known to hold the record for the tallest person in the world in all chronological periods. Born on February 22, 1918 in Illinois in the United States, in the city of Alton, he died on July 15, 1940 in Michigan, from an infection caused by his orthopedic devices.
Robert Wadlow was 22 years old when he died, and was 2.72m tall. His growth had not yet stopped, however, and he would have continued to grow if he had lived longer, due to an enlarged pituitary gland, resulting in abnormal production of growth hormones.
The difficulties inherent in holding the tallest record
Robert Wadlow’s growth curve was extraordinary. He was already 1.87 m at 8 years old, 2.24 m at 14 years old, and reached 2.54 m at 18 years old. Her clothes needed three times more fabric than the average. When he was 22, he wore made-to-measure shoes size 70: these being too expensive, the man decided to sign a partnership with a shoe company the International Shoe Company) to have shoes for him. size for his entire life, in exchange for representational work all over the United States.
His father had to make many changes to their car to make it comfortable for him, removing the front passenger seat.
A man who knew how to be great in many ways
His popularity was commensurate with his size. During his burial, tens of thousands of people came to meditate at his grave.
If so many human beings wanted to pay him this last tribute, it is undoubtedly because Robert Wadlow knew how to combine the popularity offered by his large size with a heart of the same size. Known to be very gentle, his work for the International Shoe Company took him through more than 800 cities in 41 different states and to meet thousands of families, to discuss his experience with each of them. All his life, he decided to play on the enthusiasm he arouse, and to use his particularity to establish contact with people.
