Oldest people

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Jeanne Calment at age 119

The longest unambiguously documented lifespan is that of Jeanne Calment of France (1875–1997), who was aged 122 years and 164 days. She met Vincent van Gogh at age 14.^[1] This led to her being noticed by the media in 1988, at age 113. Subsequent investigation found that her life was documented in the records of her native city of Arles beyond reasonable question. More evidence for the Calment case has been produced than for any other supercentenarian case, which makes her case a gold standard among the oldest people recordholders. This is contrasted with the now-disputed claim of age 120 for the oldest man ever, Shigechiyo Izumi. While this case is currently still recognized by Guinness World Records, the Japanese authorities have hinted that his age was not certain.^[2] This claim was accepted in 1978, but subsequent additional research (as early as 1984) has raised doubt as to whether his birth date was confused with that of a brother who died at a young age.

Since the death of Yone Minagawa on August 13, 2007, the oldest living person is 115 year-old Edna Parker of the U.S., who was born on April 20, 1893.^[3] She and Maria de Jesus of Portugal are the only validated surviving people who were alive in 1893.

[edit] Oldest living people

The following is a list of the people who have held the title of oldest recognized person in the world since 1955 (the year Guinness Records began). This list does not reflect the original lists, but is instead retroactive – for example, the Betsy Baker case was not independently verified until the 2000s.

From	To	Name	Age when oldest	Lived	Sex	Country
Title began in 1955	24 October 1955	Betsy Baker	?-113	20 August 1842 – 24 October 1955	F	England, UK (born) Nebraska, U.S. (died)
24 October 1955	25 June 1959	Martha Graham	110-114	27? December 1844 – 25 June 1959	F	North Carolina, U.S.
25 June 1959	10 February 1961	James Brett, Jr.	110-111?	25 June 1849? – 10 February 1961	M	Texas, U.S.
10 February 1961	16 March 1962	Joseph Saint-Amour	108-110	26 February 1852 – 16 March 1962	M	Quebec, Canada
16 March 1962	17 February 1963	Lovisa Svensson	108-109	20 November 1853 – 17 February 1963	F	Sweden
17 February 1963	8 October 1963	Ellen Dart[4]	108	1 November 1854- 8 October 1963	F	England, UK
8 October 1963	6 March 1965	Elizabeth Kensley[5]	108-109	12 May 1855 – 6 March 1965	F	England, UK
6 March 1965	24 July 1965	Auguste Pahl	109	23 November 1855 – 24 July 1965	F	West Germany
24 July 1965	10 January 1966	Hannah Smith	109-110	7 January 1856 – 10 January 1966	F	England, UK
10 January 1966	21 March 1968	John Turner	109-111	15 June 1856 – 21 March 1968	M	England, UK
21 March 1968	16 June 1968	Johanna Booyson	111	17 January 1857 – 16 June 1968	F	Transvaal, South Africa
16 June 1968	October? 1968	Marie Bernátková[6]	110-111	22 October 1857 – fl. October 1968	F	Czechoslovakia
October? 1968	11 January 1970	Ada Roe	110-111	6 February 1858 – 11 January 1970	F	England, UK
11 January 1970	27 February 1973	Josefa Salas Mateo	109-112	14 July 1860 – 27 February 1973	F	Spain
27 February 1973	18 August 1973	Alice Stevenson	111-112	10 July 1861 – 18 August 1973	F	England, UK
18 August 1973	31 October 1973	Elizabeth Watkins	110	10 March 1863 – 31 October 1973	F	Northern Ireland, UK (born) England, UK (died)
31 October 1973	31 May 1975	Mito Umeta	110-112	27 March 1863 – 31 May 1975	F	Japan
31 May 1975	16 November 1976	Niwa Kawamoto	111-113	5 August 1863 – 16 November 1976	F	Japan
16 November 1976	21 February 1986	Shigechiyo Izumi	111-120?	11 July 1865? – 21 February 1986	M	Kyūshū, Japan
20 February 1986	20 September 1986	Mamie Keith	112-113	22 March 1873 – 20 September 1986	F	Illinois, U.S.
20 September 1986	2 February 1987	Mary McKinney	113	30 May 1873 – 2 February 1987	F	California, U.S.
2 February 1987	27 December 1987	Anna Williams	113-114	2 June 1873 – 27 December 1987	F	England, UK (born) Wales, UK (died)
27 December 1987	11 January 1988	Florence Knapp	114	10 October 1873 – 11 January 1988	F	Pennsylvania, U.S.
11 January 1988	14 February 1991	Carrie White	113-116?	18 November 1874? – 14 February 1991	F	Florida, U.S.
14 February 1991	4 August 1997	Jeanne Calment	115-122	21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997	F	Provence, France
4 August 1997	16 April 1998	Marie-Louise Meilleur	116-117	29 August 1880 – 16 April 1998	F	Ontario, Canada
16 April 1998	30 December 1999	Sarah Knauss	117-119	24 September 1880 – 30 December 1999	F	Pennsylvania, U.S.
30 December 1999	2 November 2000	Eva Morris	114	8 November 1885 – 2 November 2000	F	England, UK
2 November 2000	6 June 2001	Marie Brémont	114-115	25 April 1886 – 6 June 2001	F	Pays de la Loire, France
5 June 2001	18 March 2002	Maude Farris-Luse	114-115	21 January 1887 – 18 March 2002	F	Michigan, U.S.
19 March 2002	31 October 2003	Kamato Hongo	114-116?	16 September 1887? – 31 October 2003	F	Kyūshū, Japan
31 October 2003	13 November 2003	Mitoyo Kawate	114	15 May 1889 – 13 November 2003	F	Chūgoku, Japan
13 November 2003	29 May 2004	Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan	114	31 August 1889 – 29 May 2004	F	Puerto Rico
29 May 2004	27 August 2006	María Capovilla	114-116	14 September 1889 – 27 August 2006	F	Ecuador
27 August 2006	11 December 2006	Elizabeth Bolden	116	15 August 1890 – 11 December 2006	F	Tennessee, U.S.
11 December 2006	24 January 2007	Emiliano Mercado del Toro	115	21 August 1891 – 24 January 2007	M	Puerto Rico
24 January 2007	28 January 2007	Emma Tillman	114	22 November 1892 – 28 January 2007	F	Connecticut, U.S.
29 January 2007	13 August 2007	Yone Minagawa	114	4 January 1893 – 13 August 2007	F	Kyūshū, Japan
13 August 2007	Present	Edna Parker	114-115*	20 April 1893 –	F	Indiana, U.S.

The longest consecutive time with the title of World's Oldest Person held was by Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan for 3384 days from November 16, 1976 to February 21, 1986. The shortest consecutive time was by Emma Tillman of the United States for 4 days from January 24, 2007 to January 28, 2007. The average length of time served as World's Oldest Person for the 36 people following Betsy Baker (not including the current serving person, Edna Parker) has been approximately 525.5 days. The country with the most people on the list is the United States with 12 (14 including Puerto Rico), followed by the United Kingdom with 9, and Japan with 6.

This graph represents the list of people who have held the record as the the oldest living person of which there is data, each person is represented by a single grey dot placed in the place of their final age and the date of when it was. The red circles represent the list of people who have progessively become the oldest people in history. The blue placemark indicates the current oldest person in the world, Edna Parker. The case of Shigechiyo Izumi is disputed, therefore, all people in his supposed record time period are counted, including Mathew Beard. However, if his case was proven, then he would be counted and all people under him would be erased.

[edit] Oldest living men (since 1961)

Note: Guinness World Records has only maintained the category of oldest living man intermittently over the years, not establishing it permanently until the year 2000. Persons listed prior to 2000 may be based on an historical reconstruction.

From	To	Name	Age when oldest	Lived	Country
10 February 1961	16 March 1962	Joseph Saint-Amour	108-110	26 February 1852–16 March 1962	Quebec, Canada
16 March 1962	21 March 1968	John Turner	105-111	15 June 1856–21 March 1968	England, UK
21 March 1968	August? 1970	Khasako Dzugayev	107-110	7 August 1860–August? 1970[7]	USSR
August? 1970	5 May 1973	Friedrich Wedeking	107-110	10 October 1862–5 May 1973	Germany
5 May 1973	9 March 1974	Frederick Butterfield	109-110	28 February 1864–9 March 1974	England, UK
9 March 1974	21 February 1986	Shigechiyo Izumi	108-120?	29 June 1865?–21 February 1986	Kyūshū, Japan
20 February 1986	14 December 1986	Joe Thomas	110-111	1 May 1875–14 December 1986	Louisiana, U.S.
14 December 1986	5 January 1987	Herman Smith-Johannsen	111	15 June 1875–5 January 1987	Norway lived in Quebec, Canada
5 January 1987	25 November 1988	Alphaeus Cole	110-112	12 July 1876–25 November 1988	New Jersey, U.S.
25 November 1988	10 June 1990	John Evans	111-112	19 August 1877–10 June 1990	Wales, UK
10 June 1990	18 June 1990	Henri Pérignon	110	14 October 1879–18 June 1990	Normandy, France
18 June 1990	16 October 1991	James Wiggins	110-112	15 October 1879–16 October 1991	Arkansas, U.S.
16 October 1991	14 June 1993	Frederick L. Frazier	111-113	27 January 1880–14 June 1993	Alabama, U.S.
14 June 1993	25 April 1998	Christian Mortensen	110-115	16 August 1882–25 April 1998	Denmark (born) California, U.S. (died)
25 April 1998	17 July 1998	Johnson Parks	113	15 October 1884–17 July 1998	Florida, U.S.
17 July 1998	25 December 1998	Walter Richardson	112-113	7 November 1885–25 December 1998	Illinois, U.S.
25 December 1998	29 April 1999	Denzo Ishisaki	112	20 October 1886–29 April 1999	Kantō, Japan
29 April 1999	15 November 1999	Antonio Urrea-Hernández	111	16 February 1888–15 November 1999	Catalonia, Spain
15 November 1999	1 March 2001	John Painter	111-112	20 September 1888–1 March 2001	Tennessee, U.S.
1 March 2001	3 January 2002	Antonio Todde	112	22 January 1889–3 January 2002	Sardinia, Italy
3 January 2002	28 September 2003	Yukichi Chuganji	112-114	23 March 1889–28 September 2003	Kyūshū, Japan
28 September 2003	5 March 2004	Joan Riudavets	113-114	15 December 1889–5 March 2004	Minorca, Spain
5 March 2004	19 November 2004	Fred Hale, Sr.	113	1 December 1890–19 November 2004	Maine, U.S.
19 November 2004	24 January 2007	Emiliano Mercado del Toro	113-115	21 August 1891–24 January 2007	Puerto Rico
24 January 2007	Present	Tomoji Tanabe	111-112*	18 September 1895–	Kyūshū, Japan

The longest consecutive time with the title of World's Oldest Man held was by Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan for 4,367 days from March 9, 1974 to February 21, 1986. The shortest consecutive time was by Henri Pérignon of France for 8 days from June 10, 1990 to June 18, 1990. The country with the most people on the list is the United States with 9, followed by Japan with 4, and the United Kingdom with 3.

[edit] Oldest people ever (115+)

Main article: List of the oldest people

[edit] Oldest men ever (top 10)

[edit] Oldest validated people currently living (top 10)

Main article: List of living supercentenarians

Please note that approximately 90% of all supercentenarians are women. This list is currently all female.

#	Name	Age as of 9 June 2008	Sex	Born	Residence
1	Edna Parker	&0000000000000115.000000115 years, &0000000000000050.00000050 days	F	20 April 1893	Oldest person in the world (since August 13, 2007). Lives in Indiana, United States
2	Maria de Jesus	&0000000000000114.000000114 years, &0000000000000273.000000273 days	F	10 September 1893	Lives in Portugal
3	Gertrude Baines	&0000000000000114.000000114 years, &0000000000000064.00000064 days	F	6 April 1894	Lives in California, United States
4	Catherine Hagel	&0000000000000113.000000113 years, &0000000000000194.000000194 days	F	28 November 1894	Lives in Minnesota, United States
5	Beatrice Farve	&0000000000000113.000000113 years, &0000000000000040.00000040 days	F	30 April 1895	Lives in Georgia, United States
6	Mary Josephine Ray	&0000000000000113.000000113 years, &0000000000000023.00000023 days	F	17 May 1895	Lives in New Hampshire, United States
7	Manuela Fernández-Fojaco	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000357.000000357 days	F	18 June 1895	Lives in Asturias, Spain
8	Olivia Patricia Thomas	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000346.000000346 days	F	29 June 1895	Lives in New York, United States
9	Neva Morris	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000311.000000311 days	F	3 August 1895	Lives in Iowa, United States
10	Chiyo Shraishi	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000308.000000308 days	F	6 August 1895	Lives in Japan

[edit] Oldest men currently living (top 10)

Main article: List of living supercentenarians

#	Name	Age as of 9 June 2008	Born	Residence
1	Tomoji Tanabe	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000265.000000265 days	18 September 1895	Oldest man in the world (since 24 January 2007). Lives in Kyūshū, Japan
2	Henry Allingham	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000003.0000003 days	6 June 1896	Lives in England, United Kingdom. World War I Veteran
	George Francis	&0000000000000112.000000112 years, &0000000000000003.0000003 days	6 June 1896	Lives in California, United States
4	Walter Breuning	&0000000000000111.000000111 years, &0000000000000262.000000262 days	21 September 1896	Lives in Montana, United States
5	Augusto Moreira de Oliveira	&0000000000000111.000000111 years, &0000000000000247.000000247 days	6 October 1896	Lives in Portugal
6	Walter Seward	&0000000000000111.000000111 years, &0000000000000240.000000240 days	13 October 1896	Lives in New Jersey, United States
7	Jiroemon Kimura	&0000000000000111.000000111 years, &0000000000000051.00000051 days	19 April 1897	Lives in Kansai, Japan
8	Kiyoshi Igarashi	&0000000000000110.000000110 years, &0000000000000312.000000312 days	2 August 1897	Lives in Hokkaidō, Japan
9	Aarne Arvonen	&0000000000000110.000000110 years, &0000000000000310.000000310 days	4 August 1897	Lives in Finland. Finnish Civil War Veteran
10	Masatake Kinoshita	&0000000000000110.000000110 years, &0000000000000294.000000294 days	20 August 1897	Lives in Japan

[edit] Supercentenarians who died before 1955

Supercentenarian Ann Pouder photographed by Charles Martin on her 110th birthday.

Name	Born	Died	Age	Sex	Notes
Thomas Peters	1745	1857	111 years 354 days	M	The Netherlands; earliest supercentenarian recognized by the Guinness Book of Records
Geert Boomgaard	1788	1899	110 years 135 days	M	The Netherlands; earliest supercentenarian recognized by scholars
Margaret Neve	1792	1903	110 years 321 days	F	Guernsey, Channel Islands
Ann Pouder	1807	1917	110 years 93 days	F	Born England, UK Died Nebraska, U.S.
Louisa Thiers	1814	1926	111 years 138 days	F	New York, U.S.
Delina Filkins	1815	1928	113 years 214 days	F	New York, U.S.
Miriam Bannister	1817	1928	111 years 21 days	F	Born England, UK Died Missouri, U.S.
Demetrius Philipovitch	1818	1928	110 years 144+ days	M	Yugoslavia
Katherine Plunket	1820	1932	111 years 327 days	F	Ireland

[edit] National longevity recordholders

Main article: National longevity recordholders

[edit] Nation of death (oldest first)

Country	Age	Sex	Name	Born	Died
France	122 years 164 days	F	Jeanne Calment	21 February 1875	4 August 1997
Japan	120? years 237 days	M	Shigechiyo Izumi	29 June 1865?	21 February 1986
United States	119 years 97 days	F	Sarah Knauss	24 September 1880	30 December 1999
Canada	117 years 230 days	F	Marie-Louise Meilleur	29 August 1880	16 April 1998
Ecuador	116 years 347 days	F	María Capovilla	14 September 1889	27 August 2006
United Kingdom	115 years 228 days	F	Charlotte Hughes	1 August 1877	17 March 1993
Romania	115? years 157 days	F	Anitica Butariu	30 June 1882?	21 November 1997
Netherlands	115 years 62 days	F	Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper	29 June 1890	30 August 2005
Portugal	114 years 274 days	F	Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes	24 October 1890	25 July 2005
Australia	114 years 148 days	F	Christina Cock	25 December 1887	22 May 2002
Spain	114 years 81 days	M	Joan Riudavets	15 December 1889	5 March 2004
Italy	114 years 4 days	F	Virginia Dighero-Zolezzi	24 December 1891	28 December 2005
New Zealand	113 years 109 days	F	Florence Finch	22 December 1893	10 April 2007
Sweden	113 years 0 days	F	Astrid Zachrison	15 May 1895	15 May 2008
Germany	112 years 362 days	F	Maria Laqua	12 February 1889	9 February 2002
Finland	112 years 259 days	F	Lempi Maria Rothovius	2 October 1887	17 June 2000
Belgium	112 years 186 days	F	Joanna Deroover	3 June 1890	6 December 2002
Austria	112 years 178 days	F	Maria Mika	23 May 1882	17 November 1994
Norway	112 years 61 days	F	Maren Bolette Torp	21 December 1876	20 February 1989
Ireland	111 years 327 days	F	Katherine Plunket	22 November 1820	14 October 1932
South Africa	111 years 151 days	F	Johanna Booyson	17 January 1857	16 June 1968
Denmark	111 years 114 days	F	Anne Matthiesen	26 November 1884	19 March 1996
Uruguay	111 years 107 days	F	Manolita Pina	24 February 1883	11 June 1994
Colombia	111 years 105 days	M	Daniel Guzmán-García	6 February 1897	21 May 2008
Switzerland	111 years 87 days	F	Emma Duvoisin	5 July 1886	30 September 1997

[edit] Emigrant records (oldest first)

Note: listed for countries where an emigrant lived longer than any lifelong resident

Country	Age	Sex	Name	Born	Died	Notes
Denmark	115 years 252 days	M	Christian Mortensen	16 August 1882	25 April 1998	Died U.S.
Cape Verde	114 years 183 days	F	Adelina Domingues	19 February 1888	21 August 2002	Died U.S.
Germany	114 years 180 days	F	Charlotte Benkner	16 November 1889	14 May 2004	Died U.S.
Algeria	114 years 172 days	F	Anne Primout	5 October 1890	26 March 2005	Died France
India	113 years 197 days	F	Lucy d'Abreu	24 May 1892	7 December 2005	Died UK
Hungary	112 years 332 days	F	Elizabeth Stefan	13 May 1895	9 April 2008	Died U.S.
Morocco	111 years 282 days	F	Consuelo Moreno-López	5 February 1893	13 November 2004	Died U.S.
Greece	110 years 341 days	M	Gregory Pandazes	15 January 1873	22 December 1983	Died U.S.
Peru	110 years 106 days	F	Julia Dougherty	20 August 1893	4 December 2003	Died U.S.

[edit] Gerontology and the verification of age claims

Gerontology involves the tracking of the longest-lived proven individuals as the bio-markers of the human life span. The study of gerontology is usually credited to Michel Eugène Chevreul, a French chemist who died in 1889, aged 102. In the early years of the twenty first century gerontology is benefiting from the improvements in record-keeping in the industrialized world from the latter part of the nineteenth century. As a result, verification standards have evolved and multiple independent documentary confirmations of birth-date are now required to substantiate a claim, rather than evidence deriving only from the claimant. For claims that have not been satisfactorily confirmed by Guinness World Records, considered the authority, see longevity claims.

[edit] Current trends in the lifespans of the oldest humans

The population and lifespans of the world's oldest people are continually increasing due to improvements in health care and lifestyle during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the increasing world population. Additionally, better record-keeping, both 100+ years ago and today, is increasing the percentage of the world's population whose age can be tracked and verified. This increase has been matched by efforts to harness this data. While in 1837 the oldest verified person was aged 108 years, it is now no longer unheard of for individuals, especially females, to have lived 110 years and more. The term supercentenarian has been coined to describe this emerging population group.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Louis Epstein: The Oldest Human Beings — list of validly-documented supercentenarians (by age and chronological), including a chronological list of the oldest living listed persons since 1955 (however, for a time in the 1960s the oldest living person did not officially reach 110).
• Supercentenarian tables at the Gerontology Research Group
• International Database on Longevity