Öndör Gongor (, "Tall Gongor locals called him өндөр өвөө", c. 1880/85 – late 1920s), whose full name was Pureviin Gongor (), was a man in early-20th century

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, who suffered from

gigantism Gigantism (, ''gígas'', "wiktionary:giant, giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average height, average. In humans, this conditi ...

. He was measured high by

Roy Chapman Andrews Roy Chapman Andrews (January 26, 1884 – March 11, 1960) was an American explorer, adventurer, and Natural history, naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He led a series of expeditions through the politi ...

,M. Nyamaa, ''Khövsgöl aimgiin lavlakh toli'', Ulaanbaatar 2001, p. 49f. but some other sources even give . He is known all over Mongolia, and also mentioned or pictured in some accounts of contemporary western travellers. Frans August Larson, ''Duke of Mongolia'', Boston 1930, p. 129f.Ladislaus Forbath, Joseph Geleta, ''The New Mongolia'', London 1936, pp. 247, 259. According to an interview with his daughter G. Budkhand, published in 1997, Gongor was the third child of a herder named Pürev, who lived in the Dalai Choinkhor wangiin khoshuu what is today Jargalant sum of

Khövsgöl aimag Khövsgöl may refer to several locations in Mongolia: *Lake Khövsgöl *Khövsgöl Province Khövsgöl () is the northernmost of the 21 Aimags of Mongolia, aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl. Geography and ...

. He was not particularly big as a child. He only had long fingers. Because he always ate a lot, he became a bit unpopular with his parents, and eventually was sent to Ikh Khüree. One day, he was summoned to the

Bogd Khan Bogd Khan (13 October 1869 – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia from 1911 to 1924, following the state's ''de facto'' independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the ...

, given fresh clothes, and after a while he was even made to marry a woman who worked as one of the Bogd Khan's seamstresses on the grounds that their fates were connected at least according to a horoscope by the

. There is uncertainty around what Gongor's occupation at the Bogd Khan's court was: accountant and keeper of the Bogd Khan's

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

, the Bogd Khan's bodyguard, or wrestler. In 1913, he traveled to Russia with a delegation headed by

Sain Noyon Khan Namnansüren Sain may refer to: People * Bhagat Sain (14th and 15th centuries), Hindu mystic poet and saint * Édouard Alexandre Sain (1830–1910), a French painter * Isidoro Sain (1869–1932), Croatian prelate * Johnny Sain (1917–2006), American base ...

. Later, he is said to have worked at the toll office. Gongor had four children. He died in his home area in the late 1920s, before reaching the age of 50. His corpse is said to have been stolen during the funeral – at that time, the deceased were laid out in the steppe to be devoured by birds and other animals.. One of Gongor's grandsons, D. Davaanyam, is a well-known children's author in Mongolia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gongor, Ondor 20th-century Mongolian people People with gigantism 1880s births 1920s deaths People from Khövsgöl Province