Tallest Man Ever: The Unbeatable Record? - Guinness World Records

Standing at a staggering height of 8 foot and 11 inches, Robert Wadlow is the tallest person to have ever lived. Sadly, his life was cut tragically short when an infection led to his death in 1940.

Our editor-in-chief, Craig Glenday, investigates whether we will ever see the likes of Wadlow again, towering over the rest of humanity. The world's current tallest person, Sultan Kosen, stands at 8 foot and 3 inches and science enabled the Turkish giant to stop growing.

Why won't we see anyone taller than Wadlow? How has science advanced to mean that the record for tallest ever human will never be beaten?

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[guinnessworldrecords]

one of the tallest people ever probably also holds the record for accidentally hitting their head on the doorframe the most times too

[nickdeez]

I've visited his grave and life sized statue in Alton. You think you can tell yourself what it might be like to see a 9 foot tall human being but seeing just how big he was in reality is mind boggling.

[starrbitz]

5'7 when he was just six years old??? that's amazing—
rest in peace, Mr Wadlow 🌹

[Thulgore]

The fact that he could still walk at that height is shocking.

[randomtourist]

We need more of this kind of videos by Guinness. More of the narrated back stories behind the records, how they’re possible, who are the people behind them etc

[WBDE]

My mother (1926 - 2019) grew up in the same neighborhood of Upper Alton (Illinois) as Robert Wadlow and went to the same schools, although were not in the same grades. He was never treated as a freak in his home town and was a gentleman in every respect. Mom told me that Robert never failed to say Hello and chat with her in the neighborhood and he dealt with his disability as best he could. My father and my paternal grandfather both worked for International Shoe Co. in nearby St Louis (Missouri) which made his shoes.

[mikebottiaux]

My father met Robert Wadlow back in 1938, Robert was appearing in a parade in Illinois at my fathers hometown. After the parade, Robert met with the people who attended. Robert signed a photograph of himself for my Dad of which I still have today. Enjoyed this video!

[treyroughan]

Fun fact: at 8 years old, Robert outgrew his dad at 6 foot (his dad was 5' 11"), at 10 he was 6' 5", pictured next to a 6' 3 man

[spikergaming]

Robert Wadlow is so tall he could literally practice vertical social distancing

[taklampan]

Always been really interested in Wadlow. Everyone wants to be super tall, but nobody thinks about the issues that extreme height can cause

[nanite]

If Robert lived a little longer he could have been the first person to hit 9 feet in height.

[themedia]

Lady Dimitrescu: "Finally a real man."

[joelnert]

I love this format. Craig is a captivating instructor.

[robertaltuz]

It is sad that he died too young, but while he was alive people love him.They never made fun of him because he was a gentel giant.I would have loved to have met him if I would have been born in that era.R.I.P. Robert Wadlow.The world will never forget you.

[SaraMakesArt]

An infected ankle might not have been a death sentence for most people in 1940 either, but because Robert could barely feel below his knees, he didn't notice his until it was too late to be treated.

[bad_solid]

Imagine going to a cinema and one of these guys is infront of you sleeping, blocking the entire movie.

[xeropacity]

This is sad because he still hasnt stopped growing when he died, just imagine how much taller he couldve grown, Robert wouldve for sure topped 9 Ft tall

[fesswah]

I owe a lot to Robert Wadlow. When I was 11 and then 12 I was constantly reading the Guinness book of World Records and came upon his story. I must have reread it dozens of times, noticing in particular his height at his various childhood ages. He was taller than me at age 12, but only by a few inches. The book claimed he had Gigantism, which led me to my doctor and saying I think I have Gigantism as well. Here I was, a 12 yr old girl and I was already 6'4". The last inch I grew happened over only 6 weeks. I went to my Doctor who laughed at me saying " You're tall because your father was tall.". My father was 6'5" full adult height and male...how much sense does it make that I would "naturally" be 6'4" at age 12 and female ??? My mother had to raise her voice quite a bit with this Doctor ( wondering still if she got her medical diploma off a cornflakes box ) so finally this doctor did consent to take some bloodwork on me. Well, a couple days later, now I was being called in for an Xray of my head. Jee whiz, well the blood work was this, a test of my growth hormone level. Normal was ( I don't know what units they were using then ) 0-5, iffy was 5-10, and here my result was 42.5...suddenly the doctor wasn't laughing anymore. The Xray was reviewed by an endocrinologist at the local University and in the pituitary area there was a hazy area all through it, indicating a tumor. Guess what, just like I guessed, I had Gigantism. I went through hell and back with about 30 CAT scans, piles of Xrays, blood tests, poking, prodding etc etc and then the hell surgery ( that would take pages to describe the painful hell that was ) to remove the tumor through the back of my sinuses. If it wasn't for Robert Wadlow's story getting me on the right track of what I had, I would have grown goodness knows how tall and had no life. An extra special THANK YOU to Dr. B.K. Weir who did the surgery under a microscope and it never grew back.

[ghabsterlol]

imagine being 5 foot 7 at 6 years old... THAT S SCARY...

[ardaarsen]

That english guy is a true tall man. He walks like a normal guy. Surprisingly once in a while I see people like him while I'm shopping in local mall. If I recall the tallest person ever lived without any genetical condition was a Scottish Canadian. According to Wiki he was almost 8ft and also a strongman...