You might know some tall people who are around 6 feet, maybe even 7 feet, but there have actually been some people who were pushing 8 feet tall.
Robert Wadlow
Calling Robert Wadlow ‘nearly nine feet tall’ doesn’t do him justice. He was born in Alton, Illinois, in 1918, and he eventually reached a height of 8 feet 11.1 inches, or 272 cm. That was mostly because his pituitary gland produced unusually high levels of growth hormone.
He just kept growing. Wadlow actually toured with the traveling circus group the Ringling Brothers for a time, and he also appeared at events for a shoe company. Wadlow received braces in 1940 to help him walk. Sadly, he didn’t get to enjoy them for very long, as he died that same year at the age of 22.
John Rogan
John Rogan’s story was as sad as it was incredible. He was born in Tennessee in 1867 and grew to an estimated 8 feet 9 inches, or 267 cm. But his extreme height would cause him some issues, as he eventually became unable to stand or walk because of severe joint problems.
Rogan had to use a cart that he pulled with his arms to get around. It seems that being big ran in his family, as some reports claim that his grandfather on his mother’s side was a giant, too. Rogan himself died in 1905.
John F. Carroll
It’s not exactly easy measuring how tall a giant is, and John F. Carroll knew all about that. The man from Buffalo, New York, developed a severe curve in his spine, meaning that when he stood up, that wasn’t actually his full height.
Doctors estimated that he was probably around 8 feet 7¾ inches, or roughly 263 cm, without the spinal curve. Still, Carroll was famous for his height regardless and became known around Buffalo as ‘Big Red.’ He underwent medical treatment to slow his growth and died from kidney failure in 1969, aged 37.
Zeng Jinlian
The thing with Zeng Jinlian is that she never even reached her 18th birthday, but she still became the tallest documented woman in history. She was born in Hunan, China, in 1964 and reached just under 8 feet 1 inch, or 246.3 cm.
Like many other unusually tall people, her extreme height came from pituitary gland problems, along with extremely high levels of growth hormone. She had to deal with serious health problems by the time she became a teenager. Zeng died in February 1982, aged only 17.
Väinö Myllyrinne
You’d think that, after reaching a height of 7 feet 3 inches as a teenager, there wasn’t much more to go for Väinö Myllyrinne. But no, he actually went through another growth spurt once he became an adult. The Finnish man was born in Helsinki in 1909 and served in the military.
He also worked as a performer before living a much quieter life near Järvenpää. His maximum height was roughly 8 feet 3 inches, or 251 cm, and he was once recognized as the world’s tallest living man. Myllyrinne died in Finland in 1963.
Sultan Kösen
Some of the tallest people are still alive today, interestingly enough. Sultan Kösen is one of them, and he was born in Turkey in 1982. He began growing pretty quickly at around age 10 because of, you guessed it, pituitary issues. Guinness measured him at 246.5 cm in 2009.
They then measured him again in 2011 at 251 cm, or 8 feet 2.8 inches. Kösen didn’t necessarily take advantage of his height, though, as he worked as a farmer for a lot of his life. His height made normal equipment and clothing difficult to use. He went through treatment to stop his excessive growth and is currently the tallest living man.
Édouard Beaupré
Édouard Beaupré was born in Willow Bunch, modern-day Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1881. Nothing about him seemed to suggest that he’d be an extremely tall person, as he apparently grew at a fairly normal rate during early childhood. Then things changed.
He reached around 8 feet 3 inches almost out of nowhere, and he also weighed roughly 375 pounds. Like many ‘unusual’ people at that time, Beaupré chose to make his height work for him. He became a touring strongman and wrestler, performing feats of strength in front of crowds. His career didn’t last long, unfortunately, as he died in St. Louis in 1904 aged just 23.
Bernard Coyne
At a height of 8 feet 4 inches, it’s no surprise that Bernard Coyne had to have shoes specially made for him. He had furniture created for him, too. He was born near Anthon, Iowa, in 1897, and when he died in 1921, he also had to have a coffin built to fit his unusual size.
Coyne occasionally made public appearances and once threw out a ceremonial first pitch in Sioux City. He was the tallest person in the world when he died.
Don Koehler
Don Koehler had a twin sister, but it seems she didn’t get the tall gene. She grew to a fairly normal height, yet Don reached 8 feet 2 inches, or around 249 cm. He was born in Montana in 1925 and grew up around Chicago.
His big growth spurt began when he was around 10 years old. Koehler was offered circus work, but he decided to go another way and spent years selling forklifts instead. He was officially recognized as the world’s tallest living man in 1969 and died in 1981 from a heart problem.
Anna Haining Bates
Anna Haining Bates grew up in Nova Scotia as Anna Haining Swan, and it was pretty clear from the start that she was going to be tall. She eventually reached a height of 7 feet 11 inches, or 241.3 cm, and her adult life took her into show business.
She appeared at P. T. Barnum’s American Museum, for one. Swan married Martin Van Buren Bates, another very tall performer, in 1871, and the two lived in a specially made Ohio home. It included oversized doors and high ceilings built for them. Anna died in 1888, a day before turning 42.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
