His name is Donald Koehler and he was born September 1, 1925 in Denton, Montana.  He measured a whopping 8' 2" and his shoe size was a 22.  Koehler had a twin sister that grew to 5' 9".

Doctors say he suffered from a medical condition called Gigantism.  He began his growth spurt  when he was 10 years old.  His parents were considered tall for that era.  His father was 6' 2" and his mom was 5' 10".

His family moved from Denton to Chicago during Koehler's early years where he lived the rest of his life.  He worked for a company called Big Joe Manufacturing.  He worked there for 25 years before retiring.  He passed away on February 26, 1981 at the age of 55.  Between 1961 and 1981 he was considered the tallest man in the world by The Guiness Book of World Records.

Don would always say the hardest thing to find to fit him was socks.  He later found a hosiery company in Pennsylvania that began making custom-making socks for him.

Later in life, he suffered from the medical condition kyphosis, resulting in (often severe) curvature of the spine. Koehler died in 1981 in Chicago from a reported heart condition, by which time he was estimated to be about 7 ft 10 in (239 cm) tall.

His wish was to be cremated and his ashes scattered on a lake in Wisconsin where he liked to fish.

The tallest man to ever live was Robert Wadlow.  He grew to the height of 8' 11.1" and was born and raised in Alton, Illinois.  He only lived 22 years before dying in 1940.

For Don Koehler,  he is one of the 24 tallest people to ever walk the earth and he came from Denton, Montana.

Click on Link to see pictures of the big guy.

Photo of Don Koehler by unknown/Fair Use (No Changes Made)

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