The World's Tallest Man: Robert Wadlow 8'11" aka the Alton Giant (1936) | British Pathé
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Published 2011-08-01
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Tallest Man in History - Robert Wadlow 8ft11". Born in 1918, Robert is still to this day known as the tallest person in medical history. When the Pathe cameras went to film him in 1935, he was a mere 8′ 1 1/2″. When they returned the next year, he was 8ft4″. By the time of his death at just aged 22, he had grown to 8ft11''. In this clip, he is surrounded by his family and even though his father was 6ft, none of them stand much above his waist. Video is from 1936.
BRITISH PATHÉ'S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. If it happened, British Pathé filmed it.
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All Comments (21)
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Am I the only one who laughed at the reporter's subtle humour? - "And incidentally seem to be quite beyond the reach of young women" - "A mere dwarf of 6ft"
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a mere dwarf of 6ft
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Tall man. Short video.
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A true friendly giant. Sad story too, dead at age 22 as a result of an infected blister cased by one of the braces he required just to stand.
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He sure was a unique character. Apparently, he was very kind, gentle, and soft-spoken. I would have loved to stand next to him! Rest In Peace.
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What interests me most about Robert is that he was almost perfectly in proportion. Yes he had huge hands and feet but they were aligned with the rest of him. Many people with pituitary tumors, Marfan syndrome etc., display disproportionately long limbs, facial features and/or other body parts. Robert looked exactly like a regular man, just an extra third in size all over.
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No one will ever be this tall again because there is now a way to stop gigantism.
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He was jsut so immensley tall it's ridiculous. Would have loved to have stood next to him.
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I grew up in his home town and my mother went to school with Robert Wadlow. He was never treated as a freak in his home town and had a well-deserved reputation as a gentleman
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When I was a young boy my grandfather told a story of meeting him. I always thought he was kidding me until I was older and read of him. His heart was as big as his size. May he continue to rest at peace.
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he was ridicously tall, oh man i have problems being 6'1" living in Mexico, his life must have been a nightmare
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"Every time young Robert goes through a doorway he 'scores a duck'." - Lol, why do I find this so funny?
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I learned about Robert when was a kid in the late 70's from the guinness book of records. For some reason he stuck out the most for me but this is the first video I have seen of him AND he still had 7 more inches to grow, wow!
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Robert Pershing Wadlow was one of the few names I remembered from reading the Guinness book of Records as a kid.......Sadly died aged only 22....and he was still growing.....R.I.P.
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So Robert Wadlow grew up to be 2.72m tall. For comparison, the average adult male is 1.75m. Robert Wadlow was almost a whole metre taller than most men
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"A mere dwarf of 6 feet." - lol
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He looked much healthier at 8'4", if he stayed that height that wouldve been great for him.
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it really hurts to hear that he died at a young age 😔 Rest in Peace Robert Wadlow 🌹
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When Robert Wadlow died, his mother insisted that he be buried encased in concrete so that no one could mess with his body. She also had every single piece of clothing or furniture he had used destroyed so no one could buy or sell it and profit from his size. The only exception is that his shoes still exist.
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It's always funny hearing Robert Wadlow's name, it makes me remember the stories my Great grandmother used to tell me about him. I'm a Chicago native and my family has lived here for 4 generations. When Robert was about eight, he and my great grandmother used to play. Even though at the time he was about 5"3 or 5"4
