Robert Pershing Wadlow, remembered throughout the world as the tallest person in recorded medical history, was born on February 22, 1918, in Alton, Illinois. His middle name honored General John J. Pershing, reflecting the patriotic spirit common during the era. He was the first child of Harold Franklin Wadlow and Addie Johnson Wadlow and eventually became the eldest of five children. Robert was of average size at birth, weighing about 8.7 pounds, and there was nothing to suggest that he would become a medical phenomenon.