The Tallest Man in the World, Interesting Photos and Info from the 1930s

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

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The Tallest Man in History – 18 Amazing Vintage Photographs Captured Daily Life of the "Giant of Illinois" in the 1930s

The tallest man in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence is Robert Pershing Wadlow (born at Alton, Illinois, USA on 22 February 1918), who when last measured on 27 June 1940, was found to be 2.72 m (8 ft 11.1 in) tall.

Robert died on 15 July 1940 in a hotel in Manistee, Michigan, as a result of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a brace, which had been poorly fitted only a week earlier.

Robert's greatest recorded weight was 222.71 kg (35 st 1l b) on his 21st birthday and he weighed 199 kg (31 st 5 lb) at the time of his death.
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Many years ago some friends and I went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in Niagara Falls Canada. One exhibit was a life sized model of Robert . Paper mache or something. Anyway, the model was hollow of sorts, and there were steps in back of him where you could climb out and look through his eyes (they were cut out) and get a view of the room from his height. It was weird.
 
That's neat Marie, I bet it is really weird to see things every day from that level. Must have been very frustrating for him to do simple things like walk through doorways.
 

SeaBreeze said:
That's neat Marie, I bet it is really weird to see things every day from that level. Must have been very frustrating for him to do simple things like walk through doorways.
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Doorway heights are normally 6' 8"...Most ceiling heights (USA) are 8'..He was 8' 11" !!! It must have been very uncomfortable for him..
 
I remember the "freak shows" that fairs used to have when I was a youngster. The "Rubber Man", the "Snake Man", etc. There was a "giantess" at one of them; can't remember how tall she was supposed to be but she looked like the Empire State Building to me. For an extra fee, you could walk up to her and put your hand against hers. I was about 12 at the time and pretty near full grown and I can remember that my hand barely covered the palm of her hand. She was in a wheel chair, as most of the "giants" end up not being able to walk.
 
jujube said:
I remember the "freak shows" that fairs used to have when I was a youngster. The "Rubber Man", the "Snake Man", etc. There was a "giantess" at one of them; can't remember how tall she was supposed to be but she looked like the Empire State Building to me. For an extra fee, you could walk up to her and put your hand against hers. I was about 12 at the time and pretty near full grown and I can remember that my hand barely covered the palm of her hand. She was in a wheel chair, as most of the "giants" end up not being able to walk.
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Was it Sandy Allen?
 
Public entertainment was different in the 1930's before the days of television. It was in large measure staged live entertainment that drew a crowd. There was an element of the carnival sideshow in much of it, of spectacle that would be considered exploitative by today's standards. Atlantic City's "Steel Pier" featured "diving horses" in acts now prohibited as animal cruelty...

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