Robert Pershing Wadlow
Robert
Pershing Wadlow was the tallest man ever lived in the recorded
history of the world. He was born on 22nd February 1918 in
Alton, Illinois, US. He was also known as the “Alton Giant” and
the “Giant of Illinois”. He was the oldest of five children of
Harold Franklin Wadlow and Addie Johnson Wadlow. Robert Wadlow was
normal at birth, but started growing abnormally when he was two,
after having a double hernia operation. He was six feet tall at age
of six. At the age of 16, he reached eight feet tall which led him to
get the title of “the Boy Giant”. By the time, he became very
famous because of his height, but his bones were very weak and led
little feeling in his legs and feet which led him to required the leg
braces while walking. However, he never used a wheel chair.
In
1940, he was walking in a Fourth of July parade, a faulty brace
irritated his left ankle, leading to parasitic infection. He was
treated with a blood transfusion and surgery, but his condition
worsened due to an autoimmune disorder and he died in his sleep on
July 15th. He had a growth rate of 4 inches per year since
birth and he had reached 8 feet 11.1 inches (272cms) in height and
weighed 199kg at his death at the age of 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. Even by the time of his death there was no indication
that his growth had ceased.
At
his funeral, forty thousands people were attended and it took 12
people and 8 assistants to carry his coffin. People remember him as
the “Gentle Giant” and a life-size statue of Robert Wadlow was
erected opposite to the Alton Museum of History and Art in 1986.
people would now say Wadlow had something called gigantism, which
made him so tall.
Sultan Kosen
Sultan
Kosen is a Kurdish man who holds the Guinness World Record for the
tallest living man in the world currently. He was born on 10th
December in 1982 at Mardin, Turkey. Because of his height, Kosen was
unable to complete his education and started working as a farmer for
part time. His growth resulted from the condition acromegaly, caused
by a tumor affecting his pituitary gland. Due to his condition, he
uses crutches in order to walk. Started in 2010, Kosen received Gamma
knife treatment for his pituitary tumor at the University of Virgina
Medical School and was provided with meditation to control his
excessive levels of growth hormone. At last, it was confirmed in March
2012 that the treatment had been effective in halting Kosen's growth
at a height of 8 feet 2.82 inches or 251cms and had a weight of
137kg.
In
October 2013, Kosen married Syrian born Merve Dibo who is 10 years
younger than he is. On 13th November 2014, as a part of
Guinness World Record's Day. For the very first time, he met the world's shortest living man then, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, at an event
in London. In 2014, Kosen joined the Magic Circus of Samoa and
participated in various show around the world.
Angus Mor MacAskill
Angus
Mor MacAskill was a scottish born Canadian Giant who born on 1825 and
died on 8th August 1863 because of brain fever at the age
of 38. he was well-known in his home community of St. Ann's as “Gille
Mor” which means “Big Boy”. He was also known to many as the
“Cape Breton Giant” or simply “Giant MacAskill”. After his
death, in 1981, Guinness Book of World Records says that he is the
tallest non-pathological giant in recorded history and had the largest chest measurements of any non-obese man which is of 80
inches or 200cms in length. MacAskill was an ordinary sized body and
said to be of normal stature but in entering his adolescence, he began
to grew rapid and by his 20th year, he had attained 7 feet
4inches (224cms), and within one or two years, he eventually reached
and ceased his height at 7 feet 9inches (236cms)at the age of 22 or
23. He had deep set blue eyes, a musical hollow voice and a mild and
pleasant manner. Despite his size, he was well proportioned. He was
well known for feats of strength such a lifting 1300kg ship's anchor
to his chest height or to carry 160kg barrels under each arm etc..
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