Wadlow was born to Addie Johnson and Harold Wadlow in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, and was the eldest of five children. He was taller than his father at age 8, and in elementary school they had to make a special desk for him due to his size.
Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus.
On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, causing a blister and subsequent infection. Doctors treated him with a blood transfusion and emergency surgery, but his condition worsened due to an autoimmune disorder, and on July 15, 1940, 11 days after contracting the infection, he died in his sleep at the age of 22.
Source: Wikipedia