Robert Earl Hughes (4 June 1926 – 10 July 1958) was, during his lifetime, the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world.
Hughes was born in Baylis, Illinois in 1926. At the age of six, he weighed about 92 kilograms (200 lb); at ten, he weighed 171 kilograms (380 lb). His excessive weight was attributed to a malfunctioning pituitary gland. His chest was measured at 3.15 metres (10.3 ft), and he weighed an estimated 486 kilograms (1,070 lb) at his heaviest. By the time of his death, he weighed over half a ton.
During his adult life, Hughes made guest appearances at carnivals and fairs; plans to appear on the Ed Sullivan television program were announced but never came about. On July 10, 1958, Hughes contracted a case of measles, which soon developed into uremia, resulting in his death in Bremen, Indiana, United States; he was 32 years old.
He is often said to have been buried in a piano case. His headstone notes that he was the world's heaviest man at a confirmed 1,041 pounds (472 kg).
Famous quotes containing the words earl and/or hughes:
“Side by side, their faces blurred,
The earl and countess lie in stone....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“The mouth of the drowned dog. After long rain the land
Was sodden as the bed of an ancient lake,
Treed with iron and birdless.”
—Ted Hughes (b. 1930)