Gabriel Estêvão Monjane
Gabriel Estêvão Monjane (1944 – 1990) is one of only a dozen individuals in medical history to have reached 8 feet or more in height. He remains perhaps the tallest African yet known.
Born in Manjacaze, Mozambique, Gabriel Monjane's abnormal growth, attributed to an overactive pituitary gland, started soon after birth. By the time he was 17, Gabriel Monjane stood 7 feet 10 inches. He joined a Portuguese circus around this age, and was billed as 8 feet 8.3 inches. When measured officially in 1987, Gabriel Monjane was attributed with the height of 8 feet and three quarters of an inch. He also weighed 29 stone and 12 lbs (418 lb).
The Guinness Book of World Records stated that he was the tallest living man in their 1988 edition. Gabriel Monjane died in January 1990 after a fall at his home (supposedly from the stairs), after which Suleiman Ali Nashnush, another African, became the tallest living man.
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