[3] Upon meeting him, Charles Dickens wrote in his 1842 travelogue American Notes and Pictures of Italy that Porter walked in a crowd as a lighthouse among lampposts.
Acromegaly or gigantism results from a tumor (usually benign) pressing on the pituitary gland releasing an excessive amount of growth hormones.
[6] Small as a child, Porter began his career at age 14 as a jockey at the Elm Tree Garden horse track on Shippingport Island.
[2] Originally apprenticed as a cooper, Porter gave up the trade as his quickly growing limbs made him clumsy and wobbly.
[5] Switching to building hog heads of tobacco wasn't much easier, so Porter turned to driving a hackney full of cargo or passengers along the Portland & Louisville Turnpike.
Almost any day he could be seen driving on Main Street in his one-seat buggy, a big mule pulling it, and his knees higher than the dashboard.
At times, he was uncomfortable with the attention, yet he often traveled around town performing small skits and appearing at local events.
[11] Porter was found dead in his bed on the morning of April 25, 1859, as a family member attempted to rouse him for breakfast.