John Rogan
{{Short description|Second tallest person ever recorded (1867–1905)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = John Rogan
| image = John_Rogan.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1867|02|12}}
| birth_place = Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1905|09|11|1867|02|12}}
| death_place = Gallatin, Tennessee, U.S.
| other_names = Willie, Bud Rogan, The Negro Giant (alias)
| occupation = Salesman, artist, sharecropper
| known_for = Second tallest man in history, tallest African-American ever recorded
| height_ft = 8
| height_in = 9
| relatives = William Rogan (father)
}}
John Rogan (February 12, 1867 – September 11, 1905; some sources indicate 1871 as his birth year),{{cite journal |last1=Lackey |first1=William |date=July 1899 |title=Akromegaly |url= |journal=The Philadelphia Medical Journal |volume= |issue= |pages=172–174 |doi= |access-date=}} was an American sharecropper who was recorded as the tallest non-mobile person ever, and the second-tallest person ever at {{convert|8|ft|9|in|cm}}, behind Robert Wadlow.
Biography
John Rogan was born in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He was the son of the former slave William Rogan, as the fourth of twelve children. His rapid growth began at the age of 13, due to gigantism.{{cite book |last=Mason |first=Mark |date=2018 |title=The book of seconds |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=9781474608473}} This led to ankylosis{{cite magazine |last=Phillips |first=Betsy |date=March 7, 2017 |title=Bud Rogan, the 8-Foot-8 Gallatin Giant |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/bud-rogan-the-8-foot-8-gallatin-giant/article_be127f9c-b6a4-5b9e-b482-7c34506a27e3.html |url-status=live |magazine=Nashville Scene |location=South Nashville, Tennessee |publisher=FW Publishing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809165635/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nashvillescene.com%2Fnews%2Fpithinthewind%2Fbud-rogan-the-8-foot-8-gallatin-giant%2Farticle_be127f9c-b6a4-5b9e-b482-7c34506a27e3.html
|archive-date=August 9, 2022 |access-date=August 9, 2022}} (an abnormal rigidity of the skeletal joints). By 1882, he could not stand or walk.
Although unable to perform physical labor due to his condition, Rogan made a living by selling portraits and postcards at a train station. An 1897 article in the Kansas City Journal mentions that a number of his drawings were published. He declined all offers to join carnivals and sideshows. He used a goat-pulled cart like a wheelchair and was always the center of attention, often noted for his deep voice and playful attitude.{{cn|date=April 2022}}
Rogan died on September 11, 1905, due to complications related to his condition. Evidence points to his burial having been on old Rogan farmland.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=October 1905 |title=Giant Negro - The Living Skeleton who was all bones is now dead |url= |work=Mainsfield Daily Shield |location= |access-date=}}
Size
In 1899, Rogan was measured at {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}. He is the second tallest person on record, and tied (with Franz Winkelmeier) for the tallest person ever at the time. Robert Wadlow's height surpassed Rogan's in 1939.
Rogan weighed between {{convert|175|lb|kg}} and {{convert|205|lb|kg}}, often billed in newspapers as the "negro giant" and "living skeleton". Rogan's hands measured {{convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on}} in length and his feet measured {{convert|13|in|cm|abbr=on}} in length. Around the time of his death he measured 8 ft 9 in (2.67m).
A newspaper article reported that his maternal grandfather was also a giant, requiring a larger saddle when he rode horses, hinting at a possible genetic inheritance.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = Franz Winkelmeier
| title = Tallest recognized person|years= 1898?–1905
| after = Bernard Coyne}}
{{succession box | before = Franz Winkelmeier| title = Tallest recognized person ever | years = 1899–1938 | after = Robert Wadlow}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogan, John}}
Category:19th-century African-American people
Category:People from Hendersonville, Tennessee
Category:People with gigantism
Category:20th-century African-American people
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