About
At an alleged height of eight feet and five inches, this Ukrainian national once held the Guinness World Record for tallest man alive. Because he was never properly measured, however, he ceded the title to a 7'9" Chinese man named Bao Xishun.
Before Fame
In his early teens, he developed a tumor of the pituitary gland that resulted in a condition known as acromegalic gigantism.
Trivia
He died in his early forties of a brain hemorrhage.
Family Life
He was born and raised in Ukraine's northern Zhytomyr Oblast, an area that was then part of the USSR.
Associated With
Turkish-born farmer Sultan Kosen, at a height of eight feet and three inches tall, was also a Guinness World Record holder in the "World's Tallest Living Man" category.
