Robert Wadlow

AKA:
Alton's Gentle Giant
Birth Name:
Robert Pershing Wadlow
Birth Date:
February 22, 1918
Birth Place:
Alton, Illinois
Death Date:
July 15, 1940
Place of Death:
Hotel Chippewa, Manistee, Michigan
Age:
22
Cause of Death:
Wound infection
Cemetery Name:
Upper Alton Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
The Odd and the Interesting
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.

Robert Pershing Wadlow by the numbers:

  • Height – 8 feet 11.1 inches
  • Weight – 439 lbs
  • Shoe Size – 37AA
  • Hand Size – 12.5 inches
  • Ring Size – 25
  • Coffin – 10 foot 9 inch long steel coffin that weighed 1,000 lbs
  • Pallbearers – 20 men

The life-sized bronze statue of Robert Wadlow was sculpted by Edward Englehardt Giberson and stands across the street from the Alton Museum of History and Art. A bronze chair, replicated after his seat at the Masonic Lodge, sits beside the statue.

The Wadlow Family Home is located at 2810 College Avenue in Alton, Illinois.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Upper Alton Cemetery

2090 Oakwood Avenue

Alton, Illinois, 62002

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Upper Alton Cemetery (aka Oakwood Cemetery) in Alton, Illinois
Map of Upper Alton Cemetery (aka Oakwood Cemetery) in Alton, Illinois

Grave Location:

Section 4

Grave Location Description

There are several gates available to enter this cemetery (also known as Oakwood Cemetery). If you enter through Gate #6 drive ahead to the first intersection and turn right on Cole Drive. Continue straight ahead through 4 intersections and park your car at Cole Drive and Jackson Drive. The World’s Tallest Man is buried beneath the tall 7-foot obelisk with several other Wadlow family members about 4 monuments from the road.

Grave Location GPS

38.915915053692466, -90.15598856552067

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

FAQ's

Robert Wadlow was born on February 22, 1918.

Robert Wadlow was born in Alton, Illinois.

Robert Wadlow died on July 15, 1940.

Robert Wadlow died in Hotel Chippewa, Manistee, Michigan.

Robert Wadlow was 22.

The cause of death was Wound infection.

Robert Wadlow's grave is in Upper Alton Cemetery

Read More About Robert Wadlow:

Videos Featuring Robert Wadlow:

Watch YouTube video titled The
The "Alton Giant" - World's Tallest Man
Watch YouTube video titled The Tragic Giant - dead at 22. Robert Wadlow almost 9 feet tall
The Tragic Giant - dead at 22. Robert Wadlow almost 9 feet tall
Watch YouTube video titled The Story of Robert Wadlow Documentary
The Story of Robert Wadlow Documentary
Watch YouTube video titled Robert Wadlow Ripley's Believe It or Not Interview! (1937)
Robert Wadlow Ripley's Believe It or Not Interview! (1937)
Watch YouTube video titled Robert Wadlow, Tallest Man Ever: Life in Photos
Robert Wadlow, Tallest Man Ever: Life in Photos
Watch YouTube video titled Tallest man ever Robert Wadlow’s height in every year of his life
Tallest man ever Robert Wadlow’s height in every year of his life
Watch YouTube video titled Robert Wadlow Is The Tallest Man In The World Standing 7 Feet Tall At Age 12
Robert Wadlow Is The Tallest Man In The World Standing 7 Feet Tall At Age 12
Watch YouTube video titled Robert Wadlow,
Robert Wadlow, "The Alton Giant" Centennial

See More:

Charlotte Bridgwood

popular name: Charlotte Bridgwood

date_of_death: August 20, 1929

age: 68

cause_of_death: Unknown

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Charlotte Bridgwood patented the first electrically powered windshield wiper in 1917, improving previous manually-operated wipers such as the one patented by Mary Anderson in 1905. However, her wiper used rollers rather than blades and did not catch on. She was also the mother of silent screen star Florence Lawrence (a.k.a The Biograph Girl) who followed her mother in inventing automotive accessories.

William Duggan

popular name: William Duggan

date_of_death: December 22, 1950

age: 51

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Even as a young boy, all William "Billy" Duggan ever wanted to do is join the circus. At age 12 he ran away from home to join the Sparks Circus where among his other duties, he was tasked with feeding the elephants. He quickly feel in love with these magnificent beasts and spent nearly 40 years working for one circus after another. In 1934, Mr. Duggan created the Duggan Brothers Circus, which toured for about a year. In 1950, he purchased the Pan American Animal Exhibit and began planning to make it into a three-ring circus that he named the Hagen-Wallace Circus. But of all the animals in his new circus, a young elephant by the name of Nancy was by far his favorite. Unfortunately Billy took ill and never saw the first performance of his new circus when he died suddenly. In his honor, Duggan’s son arranged for this life-size replica of Nancy, Duggan’s beloved baby elephant, to be carved from Tate, Georgia white marble and placed on his father’s grave. The cost of the sculpture was said to be nearly $10,000 (that's $131,000 in today's money). He was laid to rest at Grave of Pleasant Grove Primitive Cemetery in Moultrie, Georgia.

Nancy Martin

popular name: Nancy Martin

date_of_death: May 25, 1857

age: 24

cause_of_death: Yellow Fever

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Silas Martin was a successful sea captain and trader. The one thing he hated about his job was missing his family for long stretches of time. So when his son John and daughter Nancy (Nance to her friends) asked to accompany their father on his next voyage he did not hesitate to add them to the crew. When they set sail in early 1857, Nance took ill about three months into the trip. Silas detoured and sailed into Cardenas, Cuba in search of medical care but it was too late - Nancy succumbed shortly upon arrival. Rather than having Nancy buried on foreign soil or buried at sea, Captain Silas was determined to return to Wilmington for a proper burial with her family. The issue was how to keep the body preserved for the voyage home. They decided on a large rum barrel as a makeshift coffin filled with liquor to preserved the body. The thought of her body sloshing around in a cask during rough seas was too much for her father and brother, so it was decided that a chair would be placed in the cask, nailed in place and Nance seated and tied into the chair to keep her secure. Rather than disturbing the remains, upon returning to Wilmington, Silas had Nance buried in the cask in the port city’s Oakdale Cemetery.

Back to Top