Gabriel Estêvão Monjane

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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, attributed to an overactive pituitary gland, 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.

During his lifetime, especially late into his life, Mojane suffered leg problems and once crippled himself after falling and breaking his hip.

The Guinness Book of World Records stated that he was the tallest living man in their 1988 edition. Monjane died in January 1990 after a fall at his home, after which Suleiman Ali Nashnush, another African, became the tallest living man.