Since 1955, the Guinness Book of Records has recorded interesting facts, events and phenomena from life. It was originally conceived as entertainment for patrons of beer pubs, but soon gained immense popularity and became the best-selling book. It was in it that the tallest man in world history was noted, or rather, several people.
Giant people
In most cases, people with abnormally large growth are not a joke of nature, but the result of a serious illness. If you plunge into history, all the giant people known today were born by ordinary people, and were not much different from their brothers and sisters until a certain time. The main reasons for the rapid growth were a tumor of the pituitary gland (a part of the brain) and acromegaly. Almost every tallest person in history suffered from them. Interesting facts about their lives are listed 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 eldest child infamily. In addition to him, Mr. and Mrs. Wadlow had two other sons and two daughters.
Until the age of four, Robert was an ordinary boy, and after that something in his body failed, and his growth began to increase dramatically. Already at the age of ten, he was almost two meters tall.
Despite his developmental characteristics, Robert successfully graduated from high school and entered the university to study law. 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-two from blood poisoning. The good man was buried by the whole world. The tallest man in world history rests in a concrete grave. This was the wish of his parents, who feared an attack by vandals.
Fyodor Makhnov
Fyodor Andreevich 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 significantly taller than his siblings.
In his youth, he got a job in a circus, with which he toured Europe. In the contract of a sixteen-year-old boy, a height of two meters and fifty-four centimeters was listed. Soon he got 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 big. Five children were born in their marriage. The village where the Makhnov family lived was jokingly nicknamed "The Giants' Farm".
According to EfrosinyaMakhnova, 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 the title of "The Tallest Man in World History".
Makhnov died a few months after celebrating his thirty-fourth birthday.
Leonid Stadnik
Leonid Stepanovich Stadnik was included in the Book of Records as the tallest living person in history, 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 the age of twelve. He underwent an unsuccessful brain operation, during which the pituitary gland was damaged. After that, Leonid began to grow abnormally fast, his facial features changed, his 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 veterinary school and worked as a veterinarian until 2003.
The tallest people always face he alth problems. Leonidas was no exception. It became difficult for him to move around, and he almost did not leave the house. When the President of Ukraine Yushchenko found out who the tallest man in the world was, he gave his compatriot a car. Local businessmen also helped Leonid.
Stadnik died at the age of forty-four from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Sultan Kösen
Sultan Kösen is a Turk, born in 1982 in the city of Mardin. Because of his height of two meters and fifty-one centimeters, the Sultan is listed in the Guinness Book as the tallest person among the living.
Kösen failed to finish school due to he alth problems, so he has been farming since he was a teenager. He moves with the help of crutches, but does not despair at all. He even jokes about the benefits of being tall (it's convenient to screw in light bulbs).
In 2010 Sultan left for the USA. He was invited by the University of Virginia Medical Clinic for treatment. For a long two years, Kösen underwent various procedures, and in the end, the doctors achieved excellent results. The growth hormone in the Sultan's body was put to sleep.
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
Chinese peasant Zhan Junzai could claim the title of "The Tallest Man in World History". He was born in 1966 in Shanxi Province. Like many giant people, Zhan was of normal height until he developed a pituitary tumor.
At the age of sixteen, his height began to go up sharply, a few years later he reached two meters and twelve centimeters.
In the late nineties Zhanwent to the hospital complaining of severe headaches. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor. Since 1999, his height has stabilized and froze at around two meters forty-two centimeters. Zhan is the highest representative of his nation.
Bao Xishun
Zhan Junqiu could compete with 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 tallest people living today, but then Bao lost this title.
Few people know about the he alth 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. He removed foreign objects from their stomachs with his long arms.
Traintier Keever
Giant women occupy a special place in history. A native of the Netherlands, Treintje Keever is considered the tallest woman in history, but her exact height is not known. Information about him is approximate. There is an opinion that the "Big Maid" (such was Treintier's nickname) was two meters fifty-four centimeters tall, or even taller.
Traintier was born to the skipper Cornelis and his maid Anna. Parents immediately realized that their child is not like everyone else. She had too big and long hands and feet. Treintier grew up very quickly, and her parents decided to become famous at her expense. The girl was constantly taken to fairs andcarnivals and showed there for money.
Once the king of Bohemia, Frederick the Fifth, his wife and retinue became witnesses of this. Everyone was amazed by such an unusual girl, and the king's wife made an entry in her diary about an unusual nine-year-old child with the growth of a giant.
Thus, Treintier's life went on in constant traveling and performances. Despite a serious illness, the girl's parents did not stop showing her to people. During one such trip, seventeen-year-old Treintier died of cancer. It happened in 1633.
In memory of her, there was a portrait depicting a very tall girl in bourgeois clothes. However, the artist was very flattered by Treintier, because he depicted her as attractive, with thin hands and a petite face. Apparently, the girl suffered from acromegaly and could not look exactly like the one 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 unusually tall.
Anna weighed over eight kilograms at birth. Its growth rate was very rapid. Already at the age of fifteen, her height exceeded the mark of two meters. Despite this, her body remained proportionate, so (presumably) Anna did not get sick.
At the age of sixteen, Anna got into the circus of her own free will. She was paid good money, which the girl could spend on her education. At the performances they calledAnna's wrong height to attract more viewers. For contrast, a dwarf from the troupe entered the arena with the girl.
During the tour of the circus, Anna met her future husband, also a giant. The height of Martin van Buuren was two meters forty-one centimeters. The tallest circus people got married in 1871 in London.
Twice Anna tried to become a mother, but her delivery was unsuccessful. The babies were too big, the births were very difficult, and the babies were dying.
Anna spent the last years of her life on a farm with her husband. She died of tuberculosis in 1888 and was buried in the cemetery next to her children.
