At 8 feet, 11 inches tall, Robert Wadlow is considered the tallest man to ever live. But it was something quite small that killed the “Giant of Illinois” in 1940 at the age of 22: a blister. So how did Robert Wadlow die?
By 1940, Wadlow had led an unusual life. He was born a normal-sized baby. Then, he started to grow — and he didn’t stop. By the time he was five, Wadlow was already over five feet tall. By the time he was eight, he loomed over his own father.
Wadlow’s height drew attention wherever he went, but it also caused him problems. Not only did Wadlow have to spend the modern-day equivalent of thousands of dollars on pairs of extra-large shoes, but his increasing height also meant that he suffered from a number of painful health issues.
Though rather thin, Wadlow clocked in at 439 pounds by the time he died, and his height and weight put stress on his feet. As a result, Wadlow was afflicted by foot injuries starting at a young age.
After the age of 14, Wadlow started wearing leg braces to support his growing frame. And when Wadlow was 18, a doctor noted that he had little to no sensation in his feet. Sadly, this is what led to Robert Wadlow’s death.
In 1940, he developed a blister on his ankle from an ill-fitting brace. But since Wadlow didn’t notice the injury, the blister progressively got worse.
This is the full story of Robert Wadlow’s death, from the moment he first noticed the blister to his tragic demise just a few agonizing days later.
The Precarious Health Of The Tallest Man In The World
Public DomainRobert Wadlow at the age of 10 with a playmate. Wadlow was already over six feet tall.
Born on Feb. 22, 1918 in Alton, Illinois, Robert Pershing Wadlow came into the world at a healthy 8.7 pounds. His parents were of average height, as were his four siblings. But Wadlow soon started to grow — and grow.
When Wadlow was five years old, he was 5 feet, 4 inches tall. By eight, he was over six feet tall. And by 13, Robert Wadlow was over seven feet tall.
By that point, Wadlow’s family understood what was behind his height; a doctor had diagnosed him with hyperplasia of the pituitary gland when Wadlow was 12. This meant that Wadlow had an unusually high level of human growth hormones. Because it was too risky to remove the gland with medical technology of the time, it also meant that Wadlow would keep getting taller.
As he got older, Wadlow suffered from a number of health issues as a result of his height. As Guinness World Records reports, he slipped while playing in the street at the age of 14 and broke two of the bones in his foot. After this incident, doctors prescribed him an ankle brace to support his frame.
Three years later, a shoe pad designed to support his arches caused an infection which hospitalized Wadlow for eight weeks. Soon after that, Guinness reports, Wadlow was examined by a doctor who found that Wadlow had little sensation in his feet “until a blister, followed by an ulcer, is formed.”
Public DomainRobert Wadlow and his father in an undated photo taken before 1937.
Despite these issues, Wadlow was able to use his height to his advantage. He became a spokesman for the International Shoe Company, which provided him with his extra large shoes, and even agreed to appear in a handful of shows with the Ringling Bros. Circus.
Appearances like these required extensive travel. And, sadly, it was on one such trip in 1940 that Robert Wadlow died.
How Did Robert Wadlow Die? Inside His Agonizing Demise At The Age Of 22
In the summer of 1940, Robert Wadlow traveled to Manistee, Michigan. He appeared in the Independence Day parade during the National Forest Festival on July 4 but, by the day’s end, started to feel ill. Wadlow had developed a fever, and his father sent him back to their hotel to rest.
Vintage_Space/Alamy Stock PhotoRobert Wadlow in Florida, one day after his 22nd birthday. Sadly, Robert Wadlow died less than six months later.
Wadlow’s fever was caused by a blister on his right ankle. Unbeknownst to Wadlow, it had developed because of his new, ill-fitting brace. But Wadlow hadn’t noticed because of his lack of feeling in his feet.
Over the next 11 days, Wadlow got progressively worse as his family flocked to his side and doctors tried to save his life. Wadlow’s mother and younger brother came from Illinois to be with him, and doctors — working in Wadlow’s hotel since the local hospital reportedly didn’t have large enough beds to accommodate him — tried to treat him by giving him a blood transfusion and performing emergency surgery.
Tragically, nothing seemed to help.
By July 14, Wadlow seemed to know that the end was near. He spoke his last words at around 10:30 p.m., telling the family members gathered around his bed that he wouldn’t make it to his grandparents’ golden anniversary party later that month. “The doctor says I won’t get home for the… celebrations,” Wadlow said.
Wadlow then slipped into unconsciousness. The next morning, on July 15, 1940, Robert Wadlow died at the age of 22.
Paille/FlickrRobert Wadlow died with some of his average-sized family, seen here, at his side.
The tallest man in the world had died of a tiny septic blister.
The Aftermath Of Robert Wadlow’s Death
Robert Wadlow had been beloved by people in his hometown of Alton, Illinois, and they stepped up to bring him home after he died suddenly and agonizingly in Michigan. Robert Streeper, the director of Streeper Funeral Home, drove personally to Manistee to collect Wadlow’s body.
Wadlow was placed in a specially made steel casket that measured 10 feet 9 inches long. It weighed over 1,000 pounds and required a dozen pallbearers and eight assistants to carry. So many people visited the funeral home over a two-day period to pay their respects that Streeper later remarked that the carpet had to be replaced because it had been worn out.
His funeral took place on July 19, 1940, and included both Methodist and Masonic services (Wadlow was a member of the Masonic Order of DeMolay). Businesses were closed, flags were flown at half mast, and some 33,295 people either viewed Wadlow’s body or attended his funeral.
Eric Bueneman/FlickrRobert Wadlow is still beloved in his hometown of Alton, which erected a statue in his honor.
He was finally laid to rest at Oakwood Cemetery. Because his family worried about grave robbers, they placed Wadlow in a vault covered with a layer of concrete. His tombstone simply reads: “At Rest.”
By the time Robert Wadlow died, he was considered the tallest man ever — and he probably would have kept growing if he had lived. No one has surpassed him since, and modern medical technology all but ensures that no one ever will. Today, doctors can treat pituitary gland disorders.
To those who knew him, however, Robert Wadlow was merely a beloved son, a brother, or a friend. The “Alton Giant” was known for his gentleness and generosity (he had purchased the organ that played at his funeral) and for his simple pleasures of stamp collecting and photography. Certainly Wadlow — who once sued a doctor for diagnosing him as a “freak” — would want to be remembered that way.