Charles Blondin

popular name: Robert Wadlow

date_of_death: July 15, 1940

age: 22

cause_of_death: Wound infection

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as Alton's Gentle Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH). By the time of his graduation from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 feet 4 inches tall and measured almost 9 feet tall at the time of his death. Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden in the center ring (never in the sideshow). During his appearances, he dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus's request that he wear a top hat and tails. In 1938, he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company, which provided him shoes free of charge, again only in his everyday street clothes. Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak. He possessed great physical strength until the last few days of his life. He was buried at Alton Cemetery (aka Oakwood Cemetery) in Alton, Illinois.

popular name: Lawnchair Larry

date_of_death: October 6, 1993

age: 44

cause_of_death: Suicide - Gunshot to heart

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Lawnchair Larry was an American truck driver who made a 45-minute flight in a homemade airship made of an ordinary patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft, named 'Inspiration I', and with a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of Coke, a radio transmitter and a BB gun, rose to an altitude of over approximately 15,000 feet (4,600 m). Lawnchair Larry floated from the point of takeoff in San Pedro, California, into and violating controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport. Armed with a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of Coke, a radio transmitter and a BB gun,During the landing, the aircraft became entangled in power lines, but Walters was able to safely climb down. The flight attracted worldwide media attention and inspired a later movie and imitators. Lawnchair Larry was awarded the title of "At-Risk Survivor" in the 1993 Darwin Awards.

popular name: Lorraine Warren

date_of_death: April 18, 2019

age: 92

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Lorraine Warren was a world renowned paranormal researcher and ghosthunter and was half of the husband and wife team of Ed and Lorraine Warren, Seekers of the Supernatural. The team was often asked to assist in numerous police investigations involving satanic ritualistic murders, and were in high demand by hundreds of colleges and universities to speak on the subject of the supernatural. Ed and Lorraine, have co-authored ten books on the subject of the supernatural. Two of the books were made into made for television movies, The Demon Murder Case and The Haunted. They were among only a handful of investigators asked to investigate the Amityville Horror Case, and were consultants on the first Amityville Horror film. After his passing, the film franchise featuring Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by actors Vera Farmigo and Peter Wilson) “The Conjuring” has grossed over $2 billion in global ticket sales. The Conjuring was released in 2013, and quickly became one of the most widely-praised supernatural horror flicks in recent history.