John F. Carroll

John F. Carroll (1932–1969) is one of 20 known people in medical history to have reached a height of 8 feet (240 cm) or more. He suffered from severe, 2-dimensional spinal curvature (Kyphoscoliosis) and acromegalic gigantism. He had a standing height of 8 ft ¹⁄₄ in (244 cm) on October 14, 1959, at age 27 but his height would have been 8 ft 7 ³⁄₄ in (264 cm), assuming normal curvature of the spine. He was later measured at 7 ft 10 ¹⁄₂ in (240 cm) in 1968, having shrunk in stature due to his worsening spinal condition.[1][2]

Carroll was born in Buffalo, New York and also known as the Buffalo Giant in medical literature. He was third in stature only to Robert Wadlow and John Rogan. His extraordinary growth started at the age of sixteen and continued until his death, despite extensive treatments at Mercy Hospital. At one point he grew eight inches in height in a year. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna, New York.