Since 1955, the Guinness Book of Records captures interesting facts, events and phenomena from life. It was originally conceived as an entertainment for visitors to beer pubs, but soon gained immense popularity and became the best-selling book. It was in it that the highest man in world history was noted, or rather, several people.
Giant people
In most cases, people with abnormally large growths are not a joke of nature, but the result of a severe illness. If you plunge into history, all the people-giants known today were born of ordinary people, and did not differ much from their brothers and sisters until a certain time. The main causes of rapid growth were a pituitary tumor (brain department) and acromegaly. Almost every tallest man in history suffered from them. Interesting facts about their life are outlined below.
Robert Wadlow
The tallest man on the planet in the history of the world (officially measured) was born in Illinois in 1918. Robert was the oldest child in the family. In addition to him, Mr. and Mrs. Wadlow had two more sons and two daughters.
Until the age of four, Robert was an ordinary boy, and after something in his body failed, and his growth began to increase dramatically. Already at ten years old, he was almost two meters high.
Despite his developmental characteristics, Robert successfully graduated from high school and entered the university to study legal affairs. In parallel, he participated in circus performances and soon became famous throughout America as a "good giant."
Robert Wadlow died at the age of twenty from blood poisoning. They buried the good man all over the world. The tallest man in world history rests in a concrete grave. So his parents wished, fearing an attack of vandals.
Fedor Makhnov
Fedor Andreyevich was a simple peasant from the Russian Empire. He was born in 1878 in a small farm. From childhood, it was clear that Fedor was an unusual child. He was much taller than his brothers and sisters.
In his youth, he got a job in a circus, with which he toured Europe. The contract of a sixteen-year-old boy indicated a growth of two meters fifty-four centimeters. Soon, he became tired of working as a circus artist, and Fedor returned to his native land.
In the village of Gorbachi, he settled with his wife Efrosinya, who was also rather tall. Five children were born in their marriage. The village where the Makhnov family lived was jokingly nicknamed the "Giants Farm".
According to Efrosinya Makhnova, Fedor grew another thirty-one centimeters. Thus, his height was two meters and eighty-five centimeters. However, he is not recorded in any official document, so Fedor Makhnov does not claim to be the “Tallest Man in World History”.
Makhnov died a few months after the celebration of his thirty-four years.
Leonid Stadnik
Leonid Stepanovich Stadnik was included in the Book of Records as the highest person in history among those living, but after his death in 2014, this title was transferred to another.
Stadnik was born in the village of Podolyantsy, Zhytomyr region, in Ukraine. He was an ordinary boy, but everything changed at twelve years. He underwent an operation on the brain, during which the pituitary gland was damaged. After that, Leonid began to grow abnormally quickly, facial features changed, hands and feet became simply gigantic. Leonid's height was two meters fifty seven centimeters.
Despite this twist of fate, the young man did not despair. He graduated from the Veterinary School and worked as a veterinarian until 2003.
The tallest people always have health problems. Leonid was no exception. It became hard for him to move around, and he almost did not leave the house. When the President of Ukraine Yushchenko found out who is the tallest man in the world, he presented his compatriot with a car. Also, local businessmen helped Leonid.
The stadnik died at the age of forty-four from a brain hemorrhage.
Sultan Kösen
Sultan Kösen is a Turk, born in 1982 in the city of Mardin. Because of its height of two meters, fifty-one centimeters, the Sultan is listed in the Guinness Book as the tallest person among those living.
Kyosen was not able to finish school due to health problems, so he has been farming since adolescence. He moves with the help of crutches, but does not despair at all. He even jokes about the advantages of his growth (it is convenient to screw in bulbs).
In 2010, the Sultan left for the United States. He was invited by a medical clinic at the University of Virginia to undergo treatment. For two long years, Kyosen underwent various procedures, and as a result, doctors achieved excellent results. The hormone responsible for growth in the body of the Sultan was euthanized.
At the age of thirty-one, Sultan Kösen became the husband of Merve Dibo. By the standards of a giant, the wife is not tall and hardly reaches the elbow of the Sultan. However, this does not interfere with a happy marriage.
Zhan junzai
The title "The Tallest Man in World History" could be claimed by the Chinese peasant Zhan Junzai. He was born in 1966 in Shanxi province. Like many giant people, Zhan was of normal growth until he developed a pituitary tumor.
At the age of sixteen, his growth began to go up sharply, after a few years he reached two meters and twelve centimeters.
In the late nineties, Zhan went to the hospital complaining of severe headaches. He had surgery to remove the tumor. Since 1999, its growth has stabilized and froze at around two meters forty-two centimeters. Zhan is the highest representative of his nation.
Bao Xishun
The competition of Zhan Juncium could be made by his compatriot from the province of Inner Mongolia, the shepherd Bao Xishun. He was born in 1951.
For several years he was named among the highest people among the living, but then Bao lost this title.
Few people know about the health problems of the Mongolian shepherd, but the world community is aware of his marriage to a young saleswoman from Chifeng. Bao also provided invaluable assistance in rescuing two dying dolphins. With his long arms, he removed foreign objects from their stomachs.
Treintier Keever
A special place in history is held by female giants. Traintier Keeever, a native of the Netherlands, is considered the tallest woman in history, but her exact height is not known. Information about it is approximate. There is an opinion that the "Big Maid" (such was the nickname Treintier) was two meters and fifty-four centimeters tall, or even higher.
Traintier was born into the family of skipper Cornelis and his maid Anna. Parents immediately realized that their child is not like everyone else. She had too big and long arms and feet. Trentier grew very quickly, and her parents decided to become famous at her expense. The girl was constantly taken to fairs and carnivals and shown there for money.
Once witnessed this, the King of Bohemia, Frederick the Fifth, his wife and retinue. Everyone was struck by such an unusual girl, and the king’s wife wrote in her diary about an unusual nine-year-old child with the growth of a giant.
And so Traintier’s life went on in constant travels and performances. Despite a serious illness, the girl’s parents did not stop showing it to people. During one such trip, seventeen-year-old Treintier died of cancer. It happened in 1633.
In memory of her, a portrait remained depicting a very tall girl in philistine robes. However, the artist was very flattered by Treintier, because he depicted her attractive, with thin hands and a miniature face. Apparently, the girl suffered from acromegaly and could not look exactly as shown in the picture.
Anna Haining Bates
Anna was born in August 1846 in Canada. In addition to her, the family of immigrants from Scotland had thirteen more children, but no one else was notable for unusual growth.
Anna, at birth, weighed more than eight kilograms. The growth rate was very rapid. Already at the age of fifteen, her growth exceeded the mark of two meters. Despite this, her body remained proportional, so that (presumably) Anna was not sick.
At sixteen, Anna got into the circus of her own free will. She was paid good money that the girl could spend on her education. The performances called Anna's abnormal growth in order to attract more viewers. For contrast, a dwarf from the troupe left the arena with the girl.
During the circus tour, Anna met her future husband, also a giant. The height of Martin van Buren was two meters forty one centimeter. The tallest circus people married in 1871 in London.
Twice Anna tried to become a mother, but her delivery was unsuccessful. The children were too large, the birth was very difficult, and the babies were dying.
Anna spent the last years of her life on the farm with her husband. She died of tuberculosis in 1888 and was buried in a cemetery next to her children.