UncategorizedOne of her older sisters, Gladys Babilas, also lived a long life and died at age 104 in March 2002. Forex Trading for beginners “Ethel and her family are so grateful for all of the kind messages and interest shown to her as she celebrates her 116th birthday this year,” the statement read. Native now lives in Surrey, England, in a care home managed by Hallmark Luxury Care Homes, which shared a statement on her behalf with “Good Morning America.” Calment was born in France in 1875 and lived a life of relative ease and luxury. Born into wealth, she never had to work and had help with chores like cooking and grocery shopping. Freed of domestic responsibilities, Calment spent her life traveling and attending glamorous social events.
Of History’s Oldest People Ever, From A Traveling Herbalist To A Red Wine Enthusiast
As women live longer than men on average, women predominate in combined records. The longest lifespan for a man is that of Jiroemon Kimura of Japan (1897–2013), who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days. She rose to prominence in 1986 when, at the age of 111, Calment became the oldest person alive in France. By 1988, she had become the oldest living person in the entire world. And by the time she died in 1997 at the extremely ripe old age of 122, Jeanne Calment was recognized as the oldest verified person ever. Today, the oldest person alive (as of August 2025), is the UK’s Ethel Caterham.
- Working as a girl in her father’s shop in Arles, France, she had sold painting canvasses to Van Gogh.
- Born on 11 February 1904, she passed away on 17 January 2023.
- Today, the oldest person alive (as of August 2025), is the UK’s Ethel Caterham.
- Native now lives in Surrey, England, in a care home managed by Hallmark Luxury Care Homes, which shared a statement on her behalf with “Good Morning America.”
- Expectancy is a bit lower in the US, with males expected to live 75.8 years, and women 81.1.
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And astoundingly, some claim that Li Ching-Yuen of China was 256 when he died in 1933. When María Branyas Morera died aged 117 in August 2024 aged 117 years 168 days, she was the eighth-oldest person (with a verifiable age) in history. Yet another Japanese supercentenarian, Nabi Tajima lived to be 117 years and 260 days old, from her birth on 4 August 1900 to her death on 21 April 2018. Another Frenchwoman, Lucile Randon (see main picture) lived to the age of 118 years and 340 days old.
By the time of her death, they had paid Jeanne more than double the value of her apartment. Before her death, Calment attributed her longevity to her lifestyle and eating habits. She doused her meals in olive oil, drank copious amounts of red wine, and, until she turned 119, ate about two pounds of chocolate a week. Let’s start off with some of the verified longest-living people. Interestingly enough, the first verified person on our list, Jeanne Calment, comes with a bit of an asterisk — as some have raised questions about her age. In the UK, the average life expectancy of a man is 78.8 years, and a woman 82.8 years, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Chronological list of the oldest living men since 1951
Expectancy is a bit lower in the US, with males expected to live 75.8 years, and women 81.1. The oldest person who ever lived, whose age could be verified, was Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days. It’s incredible to imagine what Calment and today’s supercentenarians (people who are 110 years old or older) have witnessed in their lifetimes.
- There are also people still living today who are well over 100 years old and may outlive Calment, such as María Branyas Morera, the oldest person alive right now.
- Ethel Caterham, who was born Aug. 21, 1909, was recognized in April by Guinness World Records as the oldest person living, following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas at 116 on April 30, 2025.
- Born into wealth, she never had to work and had help with chores like cooking and grocery shopping.
- According to this arrangement, he would pay her 2,500 francs every month until she died, whereupon he would inherit her apartment.
- And by the time she died in 1997 at the extremely ripe old age of 122, Jeanne Calment was recognized as the oldest verified person ever.
World’s Oldest Person Turns 117, Reveals Secret to Long Life
The world’s oldest living person is celebrating turning 116. She was born on 4th March 1907 in San Francisco, California, and lived in Texas and New Orleans before her Spanish family returned to Catalonia during World War I, according to Guinness World Records. According to the Guinness World Records, she was the second of eight children. Remarkably, her older sister Gladys Babilas also made it past the 100 mark, living to 104 years and 78 days.
She currently lives in a nursing home in Lightwater, Surrey. The oldest living person as of August 2025 is Ethel Caterham. Find out who the oldest person alive is and see who else has worn the crown.
Caterham, Guinness World Records notes, was married in 1933 to her late husband Norman Caterham, who died in 1976. Caterham outlived her kids, as Gem died in the early 2000s and Anne died of cancer in February 2020, at age 82. Jean-Pierre Fizet/Getty ImagesAt the end of her life, Jeanne Calment smoked, drank, and enjoyed eating chocolate and red meat. But there are also people throughout history whose ages, for whatever reason, remain unverified. Huvaydo Umarova of Uzbekistan has a passport that appears to confirm her alleged age of 128 years old.
Oldest person ever
Caterham is also credited for being the oldest woman living and the oldest person in the United Kingdom. Ethel Caterham, who was born Aug. 21, 1909, was recognized in April by Guinness World Records as the oldest person living, following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas at 116 on April 30, 2025. Systematic verification of longevity has only been practiced since the 1950s and only in certain parts of the world. Jeanne was also famous for her wit, and felt that her sense of humour also played its part in her remarkable longevity. At her 120th birthday, journalists asked her what kind of future she expected.
She lived to be 116 years and 311 days old and was born on 6 July 1899 and died on 12 May 2016. The Italian supercentenarian also lived to be 117 years old (plus 137 days) and was born on 29 November 1899 before her death on 15 April 2017. The Japanese supercentenarian was born on 19 April 1897 and lived through to 12 June 2013. The Guinness World Records quotes him as saying “eat light to live long” and states that he continued to engage in agriculture until he was 90. Her husband, whom she first met back in 1931, died in 1976, leaving behind his classic Triumph Dolomite car, which she still drove until the age of 97.
Jeanne lived a quiet life, but an unprecedentedly long one. Mrs Caterham was born three years before the Titanic disaster, eight years before the Russian Revolution and lived through two world wars. She was able to walk on her own until one month before her 115th birthday, when she fell and fractured her femur; thereafter she needed a wheelchair to get around. Genoveffa Dante, a resident of Pomezia, Lazio, Italy, passed away on 30 October, at the age of 110… She was born on 21 August 1909 in Hampshire, UK, during the reign of Edward VII.
Skeptics think that the real Calment possibly died in 1934 and her daughter Yvonne may have assumed her identity. Officially, Yvonne was the one who died in 1934 of pneumonia, and experts have called the conspiracy theory “shaky,” but it does cast at least some doubt upon the identity of the world’s oldest person to ever live. LongeviQuest had the opportunity to learn about the life of Mr. Ryōji Shinoda of Osaka, who lived independently until the age of 110. Through his family’s account, we introduce his balanced approach to daily living, guided by a calm routine and meals rooted in the Japanese principle of ichiju-tasai—one soup accompanied by many small dishes. Ethel Caterham, who lives in a care home in Lightwater, Surrey, became the oldest living person in April following the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canbarro Lucas aged 116.
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