World’s Tallest Octogenarian Was From Kentucky But His Wife Was Taller

As a huge fan of the Guinness Book of World Records, every other childhood Christmas came with an updated copy of the iconic tome under the tree. Then they'd lose me for about two hours while I tore through it.

The World's Tallest Man

You can imagine, then, how excited I was when, as part of a weekend trip to St. Louis, we went across the Mississippi River to Alton, Illinois, and visited the cemetery where the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow, is buried. He grew to 8 feet, 11 inches tall. I'm 6'5", meaning he was more than two feet taller than me. I can't imagine.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guinness World Records (@guinnessworldrecords)

Combining two big interests of mine, the Guinness Book and the headstones of the famous, that was a very fruitful weekend.

Read More: Guinness World Records Awards Kentucky City for Largest Pin

While Robert Wadlow was the tallest man who ever lived, we have a similar record holder here in Kentucky. It's a specific category, but it counts.

The World's Tallest Octogenarian Was From Kentucky

Martin Van Buren Bates was born in 1837 in Letcher County, Kentucky. At his tallest, he was 7'9" and became a circus employee. It was there that he met his wife, Anna Swan, who stood at 7'11". Sadly, the couple outlived both their children, who died shortly after childbirth. Swan passed away in 1888. When Bates died in 1919, at the age of 82, he became the world's tallest octogenarian. Consequently, they also became the tallest married couple in the world.

Martin Van Buren Bates remarried after Swan's passing and is laid to rest in Seville, Ohio.