he tallest man in the world was born happy, healthy, and seemingly normal in size. On February 22, 1918, Addie Wadlow gave birth to an 8.7-pound baby named Robert Pershing Wadlow in Alton, Illinois.
Like most babies, Robert Wadlow began to grow over the course of his first year of life. But unlike most babies, he grew exceptionally fast.
By the time he was 6 months old, he already weighed 30 pounds. (The average baby boy weighs about half as much.) On his first birthday, Robert Pershing Wadlow weighed in at 45 pounds and measured 3 feet, 3.5 inches tall.
When Wadlow turned 5 years old, he was 5 feet, 4 inches tall and wearing clothes that were made for teenagers. And by the time his eighth birthday rolled around, he was already taller than his father (who was 5 feet, 11 inches). Standing about 6 feet tall when he was just a child, Wadlow soon began to tower over most adults.