Late Height Growth from Historical Individual-Level Panel Data1

The combination of height information in two sources from French conscription yields a quasi-exhaustive individual-level panel of men in their 21st year. The tableau de recrutement cantonal applies to men when they are to be selected for military service. The fiches matricules pertain to selected men from 6 to 22 months later. An illustration on the 2,923 men born in 1887 in Correze shows an average annual growth between 0.29 and 0.39 cm. Most men reach maturity at age 21/22, but the shortest men continue to grow until 26/27 years