Robert Wadlow

1918年2月22日出生在美国奥尔顿市的罗伯特-维德洛是吉尼斯世界纪录里记载过的身材最高的人，维德洛的身高达到了2.72米，是当之无愧的大巨人

罗伯特兄弟姐妹(他有两个兄弟和两个姐妹)的身高都非常正常。罗伯特十分想过正常人的生活，他喜爱摄影，上学时是个很好的学生。

1933年，罗伯特过生日时，他收到了奥尔顿市发来的特大号的生日贺卡，贺卡的大小为35X59厘米。18岁时，罗伯特穿的衣服尺码是正常人的两倍多。

20岁时，罗伯特为国际鞋业公司拍摄产品宣传广告。为了让罗伯特坐上汽车，他的父亲把家里汽车的前座去掉了，这样罗伯特可以坐在汽车的后座里。

后来，罗伯特的脚踝上安装了特殊的金属圈，没有这种金属圈的帮助罗伯特基本不能自由走动。

1940年，罗伯特得了血液感染，7月15日，他在睡梦中去世。罗伯特的尸体被运回到家乡，罗伯特的父母怕有人盗尸进行医学研究，因此给儿子做了一个水泥棺材下葬.

Early life
Wadlow was born to Addie and Harold Wadlow in Alton, Illinois on February 22, 1918, at the weight of 8 lb 6 oz (3.8 kg) and normal height. He was the oldest of five children; his younger siblings were Helen Ione, Eugene Harold, Betty Jean, and Harold Franklin II. His height increased normally until he was four years old. He then started attracting attention due to his rapid growth. By the age of eight, he was 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall. At 10, he was 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and 220 lb (100 kg). At the age of 13, he became the world's tallest Boy Scout at the height of 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m), averaging a growth of 4 inches per year since birth; at that time he wore size 25 (U.S.) shoes


Wadlow 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) at age 10At 16, Wadlow was 7 ft 10.5 in (2.40 m) tall and weighed 365 lb (166 kg). At 17, he weighed nearly 400 lb (180 kg) and was 8 ft 1.5 in (2.48 m) tall. By age 18, Wadlow had grown to be 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) and weighed more than 390 lb (177 kg); his shoes were widely reported to be size 37AA shoes, but they measured about 18 1/2 in long, which correlates to an actual size of 29 or 30 (see Matthew McGrory). His shoes still exist in several locations throughout the US, including the Robert Wadlow Museum in Alton. They were provided to him free of charge by a shoe company for which he did promotional work and appearances. In 1936, after graduating from Alton High School, he enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law. By 1937, Wadlow had exceeded all previous recorded human heights. At 19, he was 8 ft 6 in (2.60 m) and weighed 435 lb (197 kg). On his 21st birthday he attained his greatest weight of 491 lb (223 kg). By this time, his hands measured 12.75 in (324 mm) from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger.


Later years
Wadlow's size began to take its toll: he required leg braces to walk, and had little feeling in his legs and feet. When Robert was 21, he reached 8 feet 8½ inches (2.65 m) tall. On June 27, 1940 (eighteen days before his death), he was measured at 8 feet 11.09 inches (2.72 m) by doctors C. M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

In his time, Wadlow was among the most popular of American celebrities; he was well-known due to his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and his 1938 promotional tour with the INTERCO. He continued participating in various tours and public appearances.

Death
On July 4, 1940, while making a professional appearance at the National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, causing a blister and subsequent infection. Doctors treated him with a blood transfusion and emergency surgery, but his condition worsened and on July 15, 1940, he died in his sleep. He was 22.

An estimated 40,000 people attended Wadlow's funeral on July 19. He was buried in a half-ton coffin that required 12 pallbearers to carry, which was interred within a vault of solid concrete. It was believed that Wadlow's family were concerned for the sanctity of his body after his death, and went to these lengths of security to ensure it would never be disturbed or stolen.