Robert Wadlow

Robert Pershing Wadlow ( born February 22, 1918 in Alton, Illinois, † July 15, 1940 in Manistee Township, Michigan) was 2.72 meters with the greatest man in the history of medicine, whose body size is properly documented.

Life

Robert Pershing Wadlow was the first of five children of Addie and Harold Wadlow. His birth weight was 3.79 kg. The siblings, he had two sisters ( Helen and Betty ) and two brothers (Eugene and Harold Jr.) were of normal body size. At the age of four years measured 1.63 m Robert, 13 it was 2.24 m. At the end of his life, his height was 2.72 meters; while he weighed nearly 200 kilograms. The measurement was made ​​18 days before his death at the medical faculty of Washington University in St. Louis on June 27, 1940. Responsible for the growth was a pituitary adenoma, a tumor that secretes large amounts of growth hormone. Due to the rapid growth of his bones were damaged and he had to wear leg braces for support. On 15 July 1940 he died at the age of 22 from an infection. He was buried in his hometown of Alton, Illinois in a 3.28 m long coffin, which was carried by twelve men. At reminds him a three -meter-high statue, which is also in Alton ( ▼ 38.90419-90.14358 ). As the largest man he was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records. His arm span was 288 cm. He also holds the record for the largest hands (from wrist to tip of middle finger 32.3 cm) and for the largest feet (47 cm), which corresponds to shoe size 76.