While we aren’t among the top five tallest creatures on the planet, we are certainly among the tallest. Today’s average person stands 1.65 meters (5 feet and 5 inches) tall. The average world man is 171 cm (5 feet and 7.5 inches) tall, while the average woman is 159 cm (5 feet and 3 inches). On the other hand, human heights vary significantly across our planet’s numerous regions.
European men and women, for instance, are recognized to be the tallest people on the planet, whereas Asians are significantly small. Most humans, including men, do not exceed 2 meters (6’6) in height. Occasionally, some people are just born in any part of the world who are simply abnormally tall. Seventeen people in history have stood taller than 8 feet (2.44 meters). We present to you the five tallest people ever:
1. Robert Wadlow
Height: 8 ft 11 in / 2.72 meters
Life: 1918 – 1940
Nationality: American
With a standing height of 8 ft 11 in / 2.72 meters, American Robert Wadlow was the tallest person in history. He was born in Alton, a small town in Western Illinois. He was also known as the “Alton Giant” and the “Giant of Illinois.” Wadlow became a national sensation in the United States. He needed braces to walk and had a suppressed feeling in his feet and legs.
2. John Rogan
Height: 8 ft 11 in / 2.72 meters
Life: 1868 – 1905
Nationality: American
Until Robert Wadlow surpassed him in the 1930s, John Rogan, measuring 8 ft 9 in / 2.67 meters, was regarded as the tallest human to have ever lived. He is still known as the tallest person of African descent to have ever lived. Rogan was born on February 16, 1868, in the small town of Hendersonville, Tennessee, USA. Rogan’s father was a formerly enslaved person from Northern Tennessee. Until the age of 13, Rogan’s physical development was normal and showed no irregularities.
3. John Carroll
Height: 8 ft 8 in / 2.64 meters
Life: 1932 – 1969
Nationality: American
The third tallest person in history was American. John Carroll was born in 1932 in Buffalo, New York. He was also known as the “Buffalo Giant” in the media and medical literature. He stood 8 ft 8 in / 2.64 meters tall as a fully grown adult. Carroll suffered from Acromegaly and Kyphoscoliosis, which worsened after turning 16.
4. Leonid Stadnyk
Height: 8 ft 5 in / 2.57 meters
Life: 1970 – 2014
Nationality: Ukrainian
Leonid Stadnyk was the fourth tallest human to have ever lived. At the same time, the Ukrainian was also the tallest non-American to have ever lived. He was born on August 5, 1970, in a small village near the city of Zhytomyr in northern Ukraine (back then part of the Soviet Union). Stadnyk stood 8 ft 5 in / 2.57 meters tall. His rapid growth started after a needed brain surgery he had to go through when he was 13. The surgery caused the development of a brain tumor that released abnormal amounts of growth hormones.
5. Trijntje Keever
Height: 8 ft 4 in / 2.54 meters
Life: 1616 – 1633
Nationality: Dutch
Trijntje Keever was the tallest female to have ever lived and the fifth tallest person in history. Keever was born in April 1616 in the small town of Edam in North-Western, Netherlands. On her death, she measured 8 ft 4 in / 2.54 meters. Keever very quickly in her life became a sensation due to her rapid growth. Her parents took her to carnivals where people would pay to see Trijntje Keever, who was known as the “De Groote Meid” (“The Big Girl”) in the Netherlands and subsequently all over Europe.