10 Tallest Men in the World

10 tallest men list might be inconclusive as there seems to be dozen individuals that have reached 8 feet or more in height in medical history. But that’s a topic for a new post. Here’s a list of 10 tallest males according to wikipedia.

#10 Ri Myung Hun 7′-8½” (235 cm)

Sun Ming Ming (born August 23, 1983) is a Chinese basketball player. He is one of the tallest players to ever play professional basketball.

In the summer of 2005, Sun discovered that he had a benign brain tumor attached to his pituitary gland that was stimulating the over-production of growth hormone.

#9 Sun Ming-Ming 7′9″ (236 cm)

#8 Bao Xishun 7′9″ (236 cm)

Bao Xishun (also known as Xi Shun or “The Mast”) is a herdsman from Inner Mongolia, China, who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest living man.

In December 2006, Bao Xishun was asked by veterinarians to assist them in removing shards of plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins. The dolphins had accidentally swallowed the shards, which had settled in their stomachs and caused a loss of appetite and depression. Veterinarians had failed to remove them, so Bao Xishun used his 1.06 metre-long arms to reach into the dolphins’ stomachs, to remove the plastic manually.

#7 Sultan Kosen 8′ (242 cm)

Sultan Kösen (born 1983) is a Turkish basketball player. He had a back problem which prevented him from standing completely straight. A technician of the Galatasaray found him in a small town near the border of Turkey and Iraq. He stood 242 cm tall. After his back operation, his height was recorded at 247 cm (Approx. 8 ft 1 in).He is, as of now, the tallest player in the history of basketball.

#6 Suleiman Ali Nashnush 8′½” (245 cm)

Suleiman Ali Nashnush (1943 - 1991) is one of twelve individuals in medical history to reach or surpass eight feet in height. He was a Libyan basketball player and actor. In 1960, he successfully underwent surgery to correct his abnormal growth. He was one of the tallest basketball players ever at 8′0½” (245 cm) and played for Libya.

#5 Gabriel Estêvão Monjane 8′1″ (246 cm)

Gabriel Estêvão Monjane (1944 – 1990) is one of only a dozen individuals in medical history to have reached 8 feet or more in height. He remains perhaps the tallest African yet known.

Born in Manjacaze, Mozambique, Monjane’s abnormal growth started soon after birth. By the time he was 17, Mojane stood 7 feet 10 inches. He joined a Portuguese circus around this age, and was billed as 8 feet 8.3 inches. When measured officially in 1987, Mojane was attributed with the height of 8 feet and three quarters of an inch. He also weighed 29 stone 12lbs.

#4 Väinö Myllyrinne 8′1″ (247 cm)

Väinö Myllyrinne, (1909 - 1963) was an acromegalic giant who was at one time (1961-3) the world’s tallest person. He stood 222 cm (7 feet 3.5 inches) and weighed 197 kg (31 stone) at the age of 21, but experienced a second phase of growth in his late thirties, attaining a height of 247 cm (8 feet 1¼ inches).

#3 Leonid Ivanovych Stadnyk 8′5″ (257 cm)

Leonid Ivanovych Stadnyk (born 1971 in Ukrainian) is a man who is formerly listed as the world’s tallest living man according to Guinness World Records 2008. He is 2.57 m (8 ft 5 in) tall.

Leonid Stadnyk’s excessive growth began after brain surgery when he was 14 years old. He developed a pituitary gland tumor which caused the gland to secrete large amounts of growth hormone, resulting in what doctors describe as acromegalic gigantism. Twenty years after the surgery, the doctors have discovered the tumour had mysteriously disappeared and he is currently healthy.

On August 20, 2008, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, announced that the title of world’s tallest man returned to China’s Bao Xishun after Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk refused to be measured under new guidelines, which required him to be independently measured by Guinness World Records adjudicators.

#2 John Rogan 8′9½” (268 cm)

John William (Willie) “Bud” Rogan (1868-1905) Sumner County, Tennessee, USA is one of twelve individuals in medical history to reach a height of eight feet or more. Rogan began to grow very rapidly at the age of 13 leading to Ankylosis, and eventually he could not stand or walk. His exact height was not measured until his death. His height was measured whilst sat up. At that time he measured 269cm (8 ft 9 in) tall but weighed only 79 kg (175 pounds), making him the tallest African-American, and the second tallest man, ever recorded. Rogan died in 1905 from complications of his disease.

#1 Robert Pershing Wadlow 8′11.1″ (272 cm)

Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918 – 1940) was a man who, to this day, is the tallest person in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He is often known as the “Alton Giant” because of his Alton, Illinois hometown. Wadlow was noted for having the largest and broadest hands ever in recorded history being capable to hide a 2-litre bottle of soda in them easily.

Wadlow reached 8 feet 11.1 inches (2.72 m) in height and weighed 490 pounds (220 kg) at his death. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood was due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.

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