Robert Wadlow (USA, 1918-1940) is the tallest person ever verified, at 2.72m (8ft 11.1in), according to Guinness World Records. That’s a different record from the tallest living person today, Sultan Kösen (Turkey), verified at 251cm. This page covers both, plus the tallest woman ever recorded, Zeng Jinlian, at 246.3cm.
Human height records fall into two distinct categories that are easy to blend together: the tallest person ever reliably measured, historically, and the tallest person alive today. Guinness World Records tracks both separately, and this page keeps them separate too.
Record heights at a glance
| Record | Name | Height | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tallest man ever recorded | Robert Wadlow (USA) | 2.72m (8ft 11.1in) | Deceased; measured 27 June 1940 |
| Tallest living man | Sultan Kösen (Turkey) | 251cm (8ft 3in) | Currently living |
| Tallest woman ever recorded | Zeng Jinlian (China) | 246.3cm (8ft 1in) | Deceased (1964-1982) |
| Other historically tall men | John William “Bud” Rogan (USA) | 267cm | Deceased |
| Other historically tall men | John Carroll (USA) | 263.5cm | Deceased |
| Other historically tall men | Väinö Myllyrinne (Finland) | 251cm | Deceased |
| Name | Height |
|---|---|
| Tallest man ever recorded (272cm) | 272 cm |
| Tallest living man (251cm) | 251 cm |
| Tallest woman ever recorded (246.3cm) | 246.3 cm |
| Average adult man (176.9cm) | 176.9 cm |
Tallest ever recorded: Robert Wadlow
Robert Wadlow, born in Illinois, USA, in 1918, is the tallest person Guinness World Records has ever reliably verified. His final recorded height was 2.72m (8ft 11.1in), measured on 27 June 1940, shortly before his death that same year.
His exceptional height is widely attributed to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which caused his body to produce excess growth hormone throughout his life. That’s the standard, widely reported medical context for his case. It’s included here as accurate background, not as medical advice or commentary on any individual today.
No verified record since has matched Wadlow’s 2.72m figure. Guinness World Records continues to list him as the tallest person ever reliably measured.
Tallest living person today: Sultan Kösen
Sultan Kösen, from Turkey, is verified by Guinness World Records as the tallest living man, at 251cm. This is a genuinely different record from Wadlow’s: it specifically tracks the tallest person alive at any given time, not the tallest ever measured historically.
It’s easy to conflate the two records, since both involve extraordinary height. Wadlow’s 2.72m figure remains the all-time record; Kösen’s 251cm is the current record among people alive today, which will pass to someone else if a taller living person is ever verified.
Tallest woman ever recorded: Zeng Jinlian
Zeng Jinlian, from China, is recorded by Guinness World Records as the tallest woman ever, at 246.3cm (8ft 1in). She lived from 1964 to 1982.
Her height, like several others on this page, reflects a specific documented medical case rather than typical human variation. Guinness World Records’ own coverage of her case is the source used here, cited below.
Other historically tall people
Guinness World Records’ own list of verified historically tall men includes several names beyond Wadlow. John William “Bud” Rogan, from the USA, is recorded at 267cm. John Carroll, also from the USA, is recorded at 263.5cm.
Väinö Myllyrinne, from Finland, is recorded at 251cm — coincidentally the same figure as Sultan Kösen’s living record, though the two are entirely separate people from different eras. All three remain well short of Wadlow’s 2.72m all-time figure.
Why “tallest ever” and “tallest living” are different records
It’s worth restating this distinction clearly, since it’s the most common point of confusion on this topic. “Tallest person ever recorded” refers to the tallest height Guinness World Records has verified across all of recorded history, living or dead. Robert Wadlow holds that record.
“Tallest living person” refers only to whoever currently holds the tallest verified height among people alive today. That title can change hands if a taller living person is ever verified, whereas Wadlow’s all-time record would only be surpassed by an even taller verified individual, at any point in history.
Sultan Kösen currently holds the living record, at 251cm. He is not the tallest person ever recorded; Wadlow’s 2.72m remains well above that figure. Both records are genuine Guinness World Records titles, just measuring different things.
How records like these get verified
Guinness World Records applies documented measurement standards before recognising a height record, rather than relying on informal reports or estimates. That verification process is part of why the same handful of names, including Wadlow, Kösen and Zeng Jinlian, appear consistently across reputable sources on this topic.
This page doesn’t attempt to describe that verification process in detail. It simply reports the verified figures Guinness World Records itself publishes, with each figure linked to its specific source page below.
Method and sources
Robert Wadlow’s 2.72m (8ft 11.1in) figure, his 27 June 1940 measurement date, and the figures for Bud Rogan (267cm), John Carroll (263.5cm) and Väinö Myllyrinne (251cm) come directly from Guinness World Records’ “Tallest man ever” page, cited below. Sultan Kösen’s 251cm figure comes from Guinness World Records’ own Hall of Fame page for him, a distinct record category from Wadlow’s.
Zeng Jinlian’s 246.3cm (8ft 1in) figure comes from Guinness World Records’ own published coverage of her case, cited below.
The 176.9cm general adult male comparison figure is the US average adult height already used elsewhere on this site, drawn from the NCD-RisC dataset. The “about 95cm taller” and “roughly 54% taller” figures in the FAQ are this site’s own arithmetic: 272 − 176.9 = 95.1cm, and 95.1 ÷ 176.9 × 100 ≈ 53.8%, rounded for display.
See any of these heights against an average adult on the comparison board, or read this site’s average NBA player height by position article for a different kind of exceptional-height comparison.