THOMPSON, CLIFF (1906-1955)

America’s Tallest Schoolteacher, Salesman, and Lawyer

The fear of getting whacked across the side of the head by the blades of a large ceiling fan can be very real if you are 8’6” tall.  Such was the concern of a man born near Silva in Ramsey County, North Dakota.  Because of his enormous size and Scandinavian ancestry, Cliff Thompson became known as “Count Olaf, the Norwegian Viking Giant” during the dozen years he toured the country with carnivals, circuses, and vaudeville acts.