Wouter W de Herder
Wouter is Professor of Endocrine Oncology at the Erasmus MC/Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His interests are (neuro-)endocrine tumours, pituitary disorders and history of endocrinology, in particular history of acromegaly and gigantism.
Tallest man ever
The tallest man in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence is Robert Pershing Wadlow (USA) (born 6:30 a.m. at Alton, Illinois, USA on 22 February 1918), who when last measured on 27 June 1940, was found to be 272 cm (8 ft 11.1 in) tall.
Wadlow died at 1:30 a.m. on 15 July 1940 in a hotel in Manistee, Michigan, as a result of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a brace, which had been poorly fitted only a week earlier.
He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Alton in a coffin measuring 3.28 m (10 ft 9 in) long, 81 cm (32 in) wide and 76 cm (30 in) deep.
His greatest recorded weight was 222.71 kg (35 st 1l b) on his 21st birthday and he weighed 199 kg (31 st 5 lb) at the time of his death.