Väinö Myllyrinne

Who was Väinö Myllyrinne?

Väinö Myllyrinne, was an acromegalic giant who was at one time the world's tallest person. He stood 222 cm and weighed 197 kg at the age of 21, but experienced a second phase of growth in his late thirties, attaining a height of 251 cm.

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 1962, just a year before his death, he was measured by doctors at 8 ft 1 inches. He had a 15.7 inch hand span, the greatest known.