| Louis Moilanen | |
 | |
| Height: | 7 ft 9 in (236.2cm) |
| Birth: | 5 January 1886 Finland |
| Death: | 16 September 1913 Finland |
| Verified | |
Louis Moilanen, Also known as "Big Louie", was a Finnish-born giant. Whose height was verified, as a 7 ft 9 in (236.2cm)
Biography[]
Louis Moilanen was born on 5 January 1886, in Finland, Hancock, to Louis Moilanen, and Annie Moilanen. At the age of 4, he and his family emigrated to Michigan in the United States. Louis Moilanen eventually grew to the height of 7 ft 9 in (236 cm).
As an adult he was a miner and bartender. He also worked with the Ringling Brothers Circus as a sideshow attraction to exhibit his great height.
Buying clothes was difficult, so the Ed Haas Mens Store in Houghton tailored clothes for Louis and special ordered size 19 shoes, and size 9 stetson hats. Moilanen may have been one of the tallest men in the world at one time, said to be 8 ft 1 in (246.5 cm) tall at his peak, although this remains unconfirmed. In 1913, he became violently ill, and died from tubercular meningitis of the brain. He was buried in a coffin that was 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 3 feet (0.9 m) wide, and laid to rest at the Lakeside Cemetery just west of Hancock. The grandson of the founder of Crawford Funeral Home discovered an old telegram that says the inner measurement of Moilanen's casket was 8 feet 3 inches (2.5 m) long.