Old Man Time

This is a list of the tallest people, verified by Guinness World Records or other reliable sources. According to Guinness World Records, Robert Wadlow of the United States (1918–1940) was the tallest person in recorded history, measuring 272 cm (8 ft 11 in) at the time of his death. There are reports about even taller people but most claims are unverified or erroneous. Since antiquity, discoveries have been reported of gigantic human skeletons. Originally thought to belong to mythical giants, these bones were later identified as the exaggerated remains of prehistoric animals, usually whales or elephants. Regular reports in American newspapers in the 18th and 19th centuries of giant human skeletons may have inspired the case of the "petrified" Cardiff Giant, an archaeological hoax.