People-giants, whose height exceeds 2 meters 50 cm, are extremely rare. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the tallest man on our planet was the American Robert Wadlow. His height was 272 cm. However, Belarusians do not agree with the opinion of this reputable publication. After all, they know for sure that the giant, worthy of the title of the tallest man in the world, lived in the Vitebsk province, and his name was Fedor Andreevich Makhnov. His height, according to some sources, was as much as 285 cm. At the beginning of the last century, this unique person was known all over the world, but today he is almost forgotten.
The childhood of a giant
Fate prepared Makhnov a short but incredibly interesting life. Fedor Andreevich was born back in 1878 in the village of Kostyuki, located near Vitebsk. His parents were poor peasants whose ancestors moved to the Russian Empire from Syria. Makhnov became the first giant of his kind. His father, mother, brothers and sisters were above average height, and although his grandfather was considered a tall man, no one could call him a giant.
Already at birth, Fyodor Makhnov was distinguished by unusually large growth. His mother could not stand the difficult birth and died without seeing the baby. Earlythe boy spent years with his grandfather, who doted on his grandson. Fedya differed from his peers not only in his gigantic size, but also in his heroic strength. At the age of 12, his height exceeded the mark of 2 meters. Young Makhnov easily lifted adults, independently dragged heavy carts and helped neighbors in the construction of houses, carrying logs with his bare hands. The children laughed at the giant, and in retaliation for this, he took away their hats and hung them on the skates of the roofs.
Meet Otto Bilinder
When Fedya was 14 years old, his father had to raise the ceilings in the house, because the guy no longer fit in it. A bed for a young man was ordered according to individual measurements from a local blacksmith. Shoes and clothes for him had to be made to order. Since Fedor's family was poor, he had to earn money for his clothes and food at the market in Vitebsk. It was there that he was once noticed by the owner of the German traveling circus, Otto Bilinder. The foreigner was impressed by the gigantic growth of the boy, and he quickly realized that he could earn good money on this. Without thinking twice, he turned to Makhnov's father with a request to let his son go with him to Germany. Having received consent from him, he took the young man to his circus troupe. From that moment, the 14-year-old ordinary giant Fedya left his father's house and went to conquer the sophisticated European public with his non-standard appearance.
Moving to Europe, circus life
After arriving in Germany, Makhnov settled in Bilinder's house. The employer hired German teachers for the boylanguage and personally began to teach him all the wisdom of circus art. Under the guidance of Bilinder, Fedor learned to break bricks with one hand, bend horseshoes, twist thick metal rods into a spiral, and lift wooden platforms with people standing on them. At the age of 16, Makhnov signed a contract with his mentor and began performing in the circus arena along with other artists. By this age, his height had reached 253 cm, and Otto Bilinder presented him to the public as the largest man on the planet. Together with the troupe, Fedor traveled through many countries and became known throughout Europe as a giant-strongman. In those days, giant people were a curiosity, so many spectators went to the circus to Bilinder specifically to look at Makhnov.
Fyodor performed at the arena for 9 years. Throughout this time, his height continued to increase and by the age of 25 reached 285 cm. The appearance of the Belarusian giant was impressive. He weighed as much as 182 kg. The length of his feet was 51 cm, his palms - 31 cm, his ears - 15 cm. Fedor Andreevich Makhnov ate, like most people, 4 times a day, but the portions that he absorbed were truly gigantic. His usual breakfast consisted of 2 liters of tea, 8 loaves of bread and butter, and 20 eggs. For lunch, Makhnov easily ate 1 kg of potatoes and 2.5 kg of lamb or pork, washing it all down with three liters of beer. The giant's evening meal consisted of a huge piece of meat, 3 loaves of bread, a bowl of fruit and several liters of tea.
Return to Kostyuki
Over the years of actingcareer Makhnov managed to earn a lot of money and become a well-to-do person. At the age of 25, he decided to leave the circus troupe and return home. Giant growth brought a lot of inconvenience to the young man during the tour. It did not fit in hotel rooms and restaurants, and transport was forced to choose only with an open top. Tired of endless journeys, Makhnov at the beginning of the 20th century said a warm goodbye to Bilinder and returned to his village of Kostyuki. For the money earned during performances, he acquired an estate from a local landowner Korzhenevsky. Fyodor Makhnov converted the house to fit his height, ordered suitable furniture for the rooms and lived to his heart's content.
Marrying the teacher Efrosinya
Shortly after returning home, the giant thought about getting married. The girls were afraid of the huge guy and bypassed him. It was not easy for the strongman to find a bride, but, finally, luck smiled at him. His chosen one was the village teacher Efrosinya Lebedeva. The girl was about 2 meters tall, but she still looked like a child next to Fedor.
During the years of marriage, Fedor and Efrosinya had 5 children (they all grew tall, but their height did not exceed two meters). The family lived in Makhnov's estate, which he gave the ironic name Velikanovo. In order to feed his wife and small children, Fedor had to remember his acting past. He did not refuse to perform in Russian circuses, he took part in wrestling tournaments.
Later life
In 1905 the giantFedor Makhnov went on a tour of foreign countries, taking his wife and children with him. He visited England, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Italy. The Belarusian giant was granted an audience with the Pope himself. Later, the Makhnov couple went on a steamer to the United States. For the sake of Fedor, the crew of the ship had to remake the cabin to fit his height. With his appearance, the circus performer everywhere made a splash. In many countries, he was invited to receptions with dignitaries, where he unashamedly lit cigarettes from candles in chandeliers. In France, Makhnov had a serious conflict with the local population. The arriving policemen wanted to put the giant behind bars, but they could not find a suitable cell for him and were forced to let him go free.
Efrosinya liked living abroad so much that she thought about staying there forever. However, an incident with German doctors forced her to change her plans. Doctors began to persuade Makhnov to sign a contract, according to which, after his death, they would be able to perform scientific experiments on his body. Efrosinya was horrified by what she heard and, afraid that some misfortune might happen to her husband, persuaded him to return to his homeland.
First serious he alth problems
Fyodor Makhnov began to complain about his he alth from frequent moving. The growth of 285 centimeters did not affect his he alth in the best way. After returning to Velikanovo, the man's chronic joint disease, which he had received in childhood, worsened. Legshurt so much that it was difficult for him to walk. But, despite he alth problems, Makhnov tried to lead his usual life. He did not leave performances in the circus and even entered the wrestling ring.
Death of a Giant
An ordinary giant from Kostyuki was a kind man and caring husband. With Efrosinya, he lived in love and harmony, doted on his children, did not refuse to help any of his fellow countrymen. Unfortunately, fate took Fedor a short 34 years. He died in 1912, leaving his wife with five small children in her arms (the younger twin sons Rodion and Gabriel were only 6 months old at the time of his death). The sudden departure of the circus performer from life gave rise to a lot of rumors. According to one version, the cause of his death was pneumonia. German doctors believed that the giant died due to bone tuberculosis - an ailment that affects most people of gigantic stature. There is also a version that Fedor was poisoned by ill-wishers.
Even after death, the growth of the tallest man on the planet continued to amaze others. When the undertaker received an order for a coffin and a grave fence for Makhnov, he decided that the relatives of the deceased had confused something with the measurements. He made a domino and a fence of standard sizes. When it turned out that Fyodor’s relatives hadn’t mixed up anything, he had to hastily remake the coffin in order to be in time for the funeral. There was no time to make a new fence, so I had to be content with the one that was. Fedor was buried in a cemetery not far from Kostyuki. In 1934, the remains of a circus performerwere exhumed and sent for research to the Minsk Medical Institute. During the war, they were irretrievably lost.
Historical injustice
How is it that the Guinness Book of Records lists another person as the tallest man ever to live on the planet? Researchers believe that the tombstone inscription on Makhnov's grave is to blame. It says that the giant's height was 3 arshins and 9 inches, which is equivalent to 253 centimeters. However, the data indicated on the tombstone was taken from the contract that the 16-year-old Fedor signed with Otto Bilinder. After that, over the course of several years, Makhnov grew another 32 cm, but this fact was not taken into account. But this historical injustice does not prevent the inhabitants of the Vitebsk region from being proud of their countryman and calling him the tallest man in the world.
