Väinö Myllyrinne
| Väinö Myllyrinne | |
|---|---|
 Väinö Myllyrinne (right) | |
| Born |
February 27, 1909 Helsinki, Finland |
| Died |
April 13, 1963 (aged 54) Järvenpää, Finland |
| Height | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
| Weight | 434 lb (197 kg) |
Väinö Myllyrinne, (27 February 1909 in Helsinki – 13 April 1963 in Järvenpää, Finland[1]) was an acromegalic giant who was at one time (1961–1963) the world's tallest person. He stood 222 cm (7 feet 3.4 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 251 cm (8 feet 3 inches).
Myllyrinne is considered the tallest soldier ever, having served in the Finnish Defence Forces. He was also voted 12th greatest Finn in the TV show Suuret suomalaiset, largely due to a tongue-in-cheek Internet campaign criticising the idea of the show. The advocates of the campaign thought that because one cannot pick just one person to be the Greatest Finn for their accomplishments, Väinö Myllyrinne would actually be the "biggest Finn" because of his height (in Finnish, the word suuri means both "big" and "great").[2] In 1962, just a year before his death, he was measured by doctors at 8 ft 1 inches (2.47 m). He had a 15.7 inch hand span, the greatest known.
| Preceded by Robert Wadlow |
Tallest Recognized Person 1940?-1963 |
Succeeded by Unknown: Closest is Don Koehler who had the record six years later. |