History of the world's tallest structures

This is the history of the world's tallest structures.

Overall

Below is a list of the tallest structures supported by land. For most of the period from around 2650 BC to 1240 AD, the Egyptian pyramids were the tallest structures in the world. From 1240-1884 the records were held by European churches, and from 1954-2008 they were held by guyed radio or TV masts.
Since 2008, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai has been the tallest structure supported by land, at 829.8 metres. There are oil platforms supported by the sea which have been of greater length since about 1980, with some examples up to 2,934 metres. In addition, some countries monitor their borders with tethered aerostats which can rise to 6,096 metres.

Record from	Record held	Name and location	Constructed	Height	Height	Coordinates	Notes
c. 9500 BC	1,500	Göbekli Tepe, Turkey	c. 9500 BC	5-6	18		Possibly one of the earliest known temples.
c. 8000 BC	4,000	Tower of Jericho, West Bank, Palestine	c. 8000 BC	8.5	27.9		One of the earliest ever stone monuments.
c. 4000 BC	1,350	Anu ziggurat, Uruk, Iraq	c. 4000 BC	13	40
c. 2650 BC	40	Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt	c. 2650 BC	62.5	205		First Egyptian pyramid, formed of six stacked mastabas.
c. 2610 BC	5	Meidum Pyramid, Egypt	c. 2610 BC	91.65	301		Shortly after completion Meidum Pyramid collapsed due to bad design/instability and is now.
c. 2605 BC	5	Bent Pyramid, Dashur, Egypt	c. 2605 BC	104.71	343.5		Angle of slope decreased during construction to avoid collapse.
c. 2600 BC	30	Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Egypt	c. 2600 BC	105	344.5
c. 2570 BC	3,086	Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt	c. 2570 BC	146.6	481		See also 516-534 and 534-1240.
516	18	Yongning Pagoda in Luoyang, China	516	147	482		It was destroyed by a lightning strike in 534. Its exact height is unknown, and estimates range from 137 m to 240 m.
534	3,792	Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt	c. 2570 BC	146.6	481		See also 2570 BC - 516 and 516 - 534. By 1647, the Great Pyramid's height had decreased to after its top was removed.
1240	71	Old St Paul's Cathedral in London, England	1087–1666	149	489		The spire was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1561. Its height is disputed, for example by Christopher Wren, who suggested a height of.
1311	237	Lincoln Cathedral in England	1092–1311	160	525		The central spire was destroyed in a storm in 1549. While the reputed height of is accepted by most sources, others consider it doubtful
1549	20	St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	1384–1478	151	495		See also resumption 1573–1647.
1569	4	Beauvais Cathedral in France	1272–1569	153	502		Spire collapsed in 1573; today, the church stands at a height of 67.2 metres.
1573	94	St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	1384–1478	151	495		See also 1549–1569. The church tower's spire burnt down after a lightning strike in 1647. Today the tower has a dome and stands at a height of.
1647	227	Strasbourg Cathedral in France	1439	142	466		By 1647, the Pyramid of Khafre's height had decreased from to after its top was removed.
1874	2	St. Nikolai in Hamburg, Germany	1846–1874	147	483		The nave was demolished by aerial bombing during World War II; only the spire remains.
1876	4	Cathédrale Notre Dame in Rouen, France	1202–1876	151	495
1880	4	Cologne Cathedral in Germany	1248–1880	157.38	516	;
1884	5	Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., United States	1848–1888	169.29	555		The world's tallest all-stone structure, as well as the tallest obelisk-form structure.
1889	42	Eiffel Tower in Paris, France	1887–1889	312	1,024		The addition of a new telecommunications tower in 2022 brought the overall height to 330 m.
1930	1	Chrysler Building in New York City, United States	1928–1930	319	1,046
1931	23	Empire State Building in New York City, United States	1930–1931	381	1,250		First building with 100+ stories. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to. This was subsequently lowered to.
1954	2	Griffin Television Tower Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States	1954	480.5	1,576
1956	3	KOBR-TV Tower, Caprock, New Mexico, United States	1956	490.7	1,610		Collapsed in 1960; rebuilt
1959	1	WGME TV Tower, Raymond, Maine, United States	1959	495	1,624
1960	2	KFVS TV Mast, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States	1960	511.1	1,677
1962	1	WTVM/WRBL-TV & WVRK-FM Tower, Cusseta, Georgia, United States	1962	533	1,749
1963	0	WIMZ-FM-Tower, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States	1963	534.01	1,752
1963	11	KVLY-TV mast, Blanchard, North Dakota, United States	1963	628.8	2,063		See also resumption 1991–1998 and 1998-2008.
1974	17	Warsaw Radio Mast, Gąbin, Poland	1974	646.4	2,121		Mast radiator insulated against ground, collapsed in 1991
1991	18	KVLY-TV mast, Blanchard, North Dakota, United States	1963	628.8	2,063		See also 1963–1974 and 1998-2008.
1998	0	KRDK-TV mast, Galesburg, North Dakota, United States	1966	629.1	2,064		Height includes the 1998 addition of a short flagpole, which was later removed.
1998	28	KVLY-TV mast, Blanchard, North Dakota, United States	1963	628.8	2,063		See also 1963–1974 and 1991-1998. 75-foot analog antenna was removed from the top of the structure in 2018 in digital repack construction
2008		Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2004–2009	829.8	2,722

Image:Maszt radiowy w Konstantynowie.jpg|thumb|upright|Warsaw radio mast, the height record holder from 1974 to 1991
The Kanishka Stupa near Peshawar, Pakistan was built c. 151 and rebuilt in the 4th century. Ancient travelers claimed it was up to 171 metres tall, which would have been a record at the time. Modern estimates suggest a height of 122 metres, which would not have been a record. It was destroyed by lightning.

Guyed structures

Many large guyed masts were destroyed at the end of World War II, so the dates for the years between 1945 and 1950 may be incorrect. If Wusung Radio Tower in China survived World War II, it would have been the tallest guyed structure shortly after World War II.

Freestanding structures

Freestanding structures must not be supported by guy wires, or built underground or on the seabed and supported by the sea. They include towers, chimneys, and skyscrapers. Until 1954, freestanding structures held the record for tallest structures overall, as seen in the Overall table above. Here are the records for freestanding structures after that point:

Record from	Record held	Name and location	Constructed	Height	Height	Coordinates	Notes
1931	36	Empire State Building in New York City, United States	1930–1931	381	1,250		First building with 100+ stories. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to. This was subsequently lowered to.
1967	8	Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Soviet Union	1963–1967	540	1,762		Remains the tallest in Europe. Fire in 2000 led to extensive renovation.
1975	32	CN Tower in Toronto, Canada	1973–1976	553.33	1,815.39		The tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
2007		Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2004–2009	829.8	2,722		Holder of world's tallest freestanding structure. Topped out at in 2009.

Image:Worlds tallest buildings, 1884.jpg|thumb|upright=2|right|Diagram of the principal high buildings of the Old World, 1884
Notable mentions include the Pharos of Alexandria, built in the third century BC and estimated between. It was the world's tallest non-pyramidal structure for many centuries. Another notable mention includes the Jetavanaramaya stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which was built in the third century, and was similarly tall at. These were both the world's tallest or second-tallest non-pyramidal structure for over a thousand years.
The tallest secular building between the collapse of the Pharos and the erection of the Washington Monument may have been the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy, which is tall, and was constructed in the first half of the fourteenth century; and the Torre degli Asinelli in Bologna, Italy, built between 1109 and 1119.