Photo: Taken from the Guinness World Records website.
Robert Pershing Wadlow, the greatest man in history, spoke his last words a few hours before he died in his sleep at 1:30 a.m. on July 15, 1940. He was only 22 years old.
Robert Wadlow died of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by an ill-fitting iron splint he wore to support his legs. At the time of his death he was 2.72 meters tall and weighed 199 kilograms.
But how could something as small as a blister cause Wadlow’s untimely demise?
It helps to know that Robert Wadlow had the biggest feet in history. He wore US size 37AA, which was 47 centimeters long.
Due to its extreme size and weight suffered foot injuries throughout his life According to newspaper articles transcribed by Illinois Genealogy Trails, he required medical attention several times at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
On one such occasion in 1932, Robert, aged 14, was taken to hospital after slipping on a small slope in the road while playing with a friend. Two bones in his foot were broken and he has since had to wear an ankle brace to support his height.
At the age of 17, Robert was hospitalized for eight weeks due to an infection caused by an insole used to support his arch. It took eight men and a reinforced stretcher to get Wadlow to the hospital.
Dr. Charles Humberd, a coroner and doctor who had studied gigantism, visited 18-year-old Robert Wadlow in 1936 to examine him.
One of the things Humberd highlighted in his report was the lack of sensations such as touch, pain and temperature in Wadlow’s feet.
“You don’t notice a wrinkle in your sock or a foreign object in your shoe until a blister forms, followed by an ulcer.”
Having the biggest feet in the world was not only painful but also expensive. Wadlow’s super-sized shoes cost $100 a pair (over $2,000, adjusted for inflation in 2022).
To pay the increasing costs of his growing body, 20-year-old Robert began traveling with the International Shoe Company, which supplied him with custom-made shoes.
Photo: Taken from the Guinness World Records website.
Robert and his father traveled more than 300,000 miles and visited more than 800 cities and 41 states to promote the company’s shoes.
However, Robert became fatally ill during one of these tours.
After participating in an Independence Day parade at the National Forest Festival in Manistee, Michigan in 1940, he returned to his hotel room with a fever.
The cause of Robert’s illness was an inflamed blister on his right ankle, which was caused by the skin rubbing against a freshly applied iron splint. Robert was unaware of the injury as the extremities of his body were numb.
After refusing to go to the hospital, Robert was treated by a doctor in his hotel room.
Although he underwent emergency surgery and received a blood transfusion, Robert’s condition continued to deteriorate.
When she learned of her son’s illness, Addie Wadlow immediately flew to Michigan with Robert’s little brother, Harold Jr.
“When we saw Robert in Michigan, he was very calm. He had a high fever,” Harold Jr. said in an interview with Dan Brannan for the book Boy Giant.
On the night of July 14, 1940, Robert speaks to his parents for the last time. The bedridden 22-year-old expressed his sadness at not being able to attend his grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary at the end of the month.
“The doctor says I won’t be home for the… celebrations.”
Robert Wadlow fell asleep that night and never woke up again.
Funeral of Robert Wadlow
Robert Wadlow’s body was taken to Alton, Illinois for burial.
A 10-foot 9-inch (3.28-meter) long steel coffin was custom-made, weighing more than 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms) and requiring at least 16 bearers.
It was kept at the Streeper Funeral Home, which was open on two consecutive days and nights for people to view Robert’s body.
On July 19, 1940, a large crowd – an estimated 1,000 people – gathered outside the funeral home where Rev. W.L. Hanbaum, pastor of Main Street Methodist Church, was conducting services.
Masonic services were also held, as Robert was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a Masonic organization for young men.
Robert Landiss, DeMolay’s companion, observed Robert’s casket as it arrived in Alton and recalled that the lines to see Wadlow’s body were up to three blocks long.
In the church, near the funeral home, hymns were played on the organ – which Robert had purchased with part of the proceeds from his tour – and broadcast to worshipers over the amplifier system.
Because Robert’s coffin was too long to fully fit into the hearse, the rear doors were left open and the protruding portion was covered with a black cloth.
Public buildings along the route between the funeral home and the cemetery They flew their flags at half-mast and all local businesses temporarily closed.
Robert Wadlow was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton. His tombstone reads: “In peace.”
An estimated 33,295 people saw Robert’s body or attended the funeral. Mr Streeper, the undertaker, said that all the carpet had to be removed as it had become worn out from the large number of visitors.
After Robert’s death, his family destroyed most of his possessions because they did not want them to be collected and displayed as “rare” or “huge” souvenirs. Additionally, Robert’s burial chamber was sealed with concrete to prevent anyone from exhuming his body.
In 1985, a life-size bronze statue of Robert Wadlow was erected in his hometown, forever immortalizing the Alton Giant.
To this day, Robert Wadlow is the tallest person who has ever lived, and his record is considered unbreakable.
Beyond his career, he will be remembered as a kind person who overcame tremendous odds and brought joy to all who knew him.
More information in the video Robert Wadlow
(Taken from Guinness World Records website)