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Mar 11, 2014 · Discover World's Tallest Man Statue in Alton, Illinois: This life-size bronze statue remembers the tallest recorded human in his Illinois hometown.
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Who sculpted the Wadlow statue?
He is noted in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest man alive. A life-sized statue on College Avenue lifts visitors' heads in amazement. The Alton Museum of History and Art has devoted an entire room to Wadlow, including his third-grade desk and oversized grade school ring.
- Trivia
- Early years
- Legacy
- Death
- Aftermath
Since size is the prize, it's only right that several towns bank on the man who towered head-and-shoulders above all others. His name was Robert Wadlow, and he stood eight-foot-eleven -- the tallest man who ever lived.
Robert Pershing Wadlow was born in Alton on February 22, 1918, a normal-size baby, but soon his perky pituitary gland triggered abnormal growth. At the age of 13, already seven-foot-four, he was proclaimed the world's biggest Boy Scout. And he kept getting bigger.... he eventually topped out at 8 feet 11.1 inches.
On October 20, 1985, a life-size bronze statue of Wadlow, sculpted by local artist Edward Englehardt Giberson, was unveiled on the grounds of SIU Dental School in Alton (Wadlow had attended classes there) offering mute inspiration to those who dare to dream tall dreams. In 2001 the house where he was born was moved to a spot behind the statue, and ...
All bigness, however, is fleeting. Wadlow's grave lies in nearby Upper Alton Cemetery. In 1940 he marched in a July 4 parade, got an infected foot blister, and died. He was only 22 -- but it took 12 men to carry him to his final rest.
The story of Robert Wadlow did not end with his death. He was, it should be remembered, trapped in a world of lesser, tinier men -- men who might be happy that they no longer had to measure themselves against him. This might explain why the world's tallest tombstone was denied the world's tallest man, and instead given to a dentist in Philadelphia.
- 2810 College Ave., Alton, IL
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence.
Aug 14, 2023 · In the quaint town of Alton, IL, a statue stands tall, paying tribute to a remarkable man who once walked its streets. Robert Wadlow, born in February 1918, was no ordinary individual. Afflicted with a pituitary gland condition, he grew to an astonishing height of nearly nine feet.
Robert Pershing Wadlow was born, educated and buried in Alton, Illinois. His height of 8' 11.1" qualifies him as the tallest person in history, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. At the time of his death he weighed 490 pounds.
Robert Wadlow Statue. 2810 College Avenue, Alton IL 62002 | 800.258.6645. Robert Wadlow, was born on February 22, 1918, weighing an average 8 pounds 6 ounces. He grew to be the tallest man in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, reaching a height of 8 feet 11.1 inches before his death in 1940.
