Men Supercentenarian Photos File No. 1 of 3 for the years 2001-2008,
as of Tuesday, September 11, 2012.

The World's Oldest Man in History

Shigechiyo Izumi of Isen on Tokunoshima, an island 820 miles Southwest of Tokyo, JAPAN, lived to be 120 years 237 days old. He was born in Insen on June 29, 1865, and was recorded as a six-year-old in Japan's first Census of 1871. He died on February 21, 1986 of pneumonia. It is claimed that he worked until he was 105 years old, drank barley wine, and took up smoking cigarettes at the age of 70.

Mr. Louis Epstein of New York adds, "As a curious coincidence, Izumi died on Jeanne Calment's 111th birthday. Whether he really was born in 1865 is still open to question by experts, as the 6-year-old recorded in the 1871 Japanese Census might, in fact, have been a brother who died young and for whom he was named. However, for practical purposes, he remains the Guinness historical male recordholder [1].

Ref.: 1. 2007 Guinness Book of World Records, p. 67.

July 20, 2009; If anyone were able to access official documents in Japanese to prove Mr. Izumi true age, we would be most appreciative.

October 1, 2010; The 2011 Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records has now retracted Mr. Izumi's claim to be "the oldest validated man in history" (See p. 83). According to new evidence, the Birth Certificate provided might actually belong to his older brother who died at a young age; thus, if the family used Izumi as a necronym, that is to say, gave him his dead brother's name, then his final age would only have been 105 and not 120. Table D has been footnoted to allow for this possibility.

January 7, 2002;

Mr. Yukichi Chuganji of Japan, born March 23, 1889, died on Sunday, September 28, 2003 at age 114 years 189 days. He was a retired silkworm breeder, was pronounced dead from natural causes in his home by his 65-year old nephew, Tadao Haji. Bedridden in recent years, Chuganji had been living with his 74-year old daughter Kyoko in the city of Ogori. Chuganji was born in the farming town of Chikushino on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu. There are an estimated 20,000 Japanese over the age of 100, and women make up about 80 percent of this total. Japan's life expectancy is the longest in the world for both sexes - 85.2 years for women and 78.3 for men in 2002. Researchers say the country's traditional fish-based, low-fat diet may be the secret to the long lives.

Our thanks to the Nishinihon Newspaper Company of Japan for providing us with the photo above on January 31, 2002. The woman with Mr. Chuganji is his daughter Kyoko Chuganji, who was 72 years old at the time.

January 5, 2002; We have just learned from several sources that Mr. Antonio Todde of Tiana, Sardinia, ITALY born January 22, 1889, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday/Friday morning, January 3rd at the age of 112, just 19 days shy of his 113th birthday. See the News Section of this Website for January 4, 2002 for more details.

July 30, 2000.Click on the image for

more details from The Times of London about Mr. Todde's acceptance by The Guinness Book of Records as the World's Oldest Living Man.

Antonio Todde, a New Record-Holder at 111, and his Daughter Angela, 76.
"World's Oldest Living Man Owes It All to Wine, Pasta, and Genes"

Back on May 30th, The Guinness Book of World Records had bestowed the oldest-living-man title on Mr. Benjamin Harrison Holcomb, a retired farmer in Oklahoma. Mr. Holcomb was born July 3, 1889.

Editor's Note: We have just learned from his grand daughter that Mr. Holcomb passed away on Saturday night, December 2, 2000. He was 111 years; 152 days old. More details will be posted as they are available.

December 27, 2001. This just in from Robert Young of Atlanta...
Greetings:
You may remember the "Oldest Living Man" candidates a while back (~199?) that included John Joe Begay of Utah, for whom the state of Utah claimed that he was born March 15, 1886 and 113 in mid-1999. However, a search of the Social-Security Death Index finds that he was actually born on March 15, 1888, a railroad retiree, and died September 20, 2001 at age 113. Ironically, the 1888 date matches the census records that also recorded him as born in 1888. Hence, even though some had claimed he was born in 1881 (an exaggeration), he may have been the "World's Oldest Man" but was not as old as Maud Farris-Luse, born 1887, despite the exaggerated claim. His death removes another asterisk from Antonio Todde's claim to the "World's Oldest Man" title, and even clears up a potential claim to the "World's Oldest Person" title.

Sincerely,

Robert Young

March 20, 2002; Following the death earlier this week of Ms. Maud Farris-Luse, the oldest American is now a man (Mr. McMorran) and not a woman for the first time in recent memory. The oldest American woman is Mrs. Nellie Cross whose photo is posted above with her Great- Great-Great-Grandchildren. However, Grace Clawson, 114, was later discovered to be even older.

Mr. John Ingram McMorran, a Michigan man who now lives in Lakeland, Florida, Click on the image for more details.

[ Editor's Note: We have just learned that Mr. Mc Morran passed away around 1:00 PM EST on Monday, February 24, 2003 from heart failure and complications of pneumonia. He had been designated as "Resident of the Month" in the Tandem Nursing Home Newsletter]

July 31, 2002; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has just sent us this photo of Mr. McMorran

John is now 113 and still holds the title of oldest living American man. This latest photo above together with his 39-year-old Grandson, Mr. Scott McMorran, was taken on the occasion of his 113th Birthday Party at Tandem Health Care in North Lakeland, FL.

September 14, 2001; The following men have been authenticated to reasonably scholarly standards (although not necessarily validated by The Guinness Book of Records) at this point.

OLDEST KNOWN LIVING MEN WITH DOCUMENTATION (RANKED BY AGE)

Click for a TABLE of the 11 World's Current Oldest Living Men, as of February 3, 2002.

Click for a TABLE of the 16 Worlds's Oldest Men Titleholders, from [1973 - 2002], revised on July 31, 2002.

Here is a recent picture (Christmas 1999) of Mr. Benjamin Harrison Holcomb supplied by his Grand Daughter, LuAlison Hash, and her cousin Robert Bridwell.

This just in from AP Wire Services --

July 3, 2000; Oklahoma City, OK (AP) -- Getting a birthday gift for the world's oldest man isn't an easy task. ''What does a 111-year-old man need that he doesn't already have?'' asked the man's daughter, Leona Ford.

Ben Holcomb, recognized by The Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest man, celebrated his 111th birthday Monday with an outdoor cookout and a wheelchair parade in his honor at the Carnegie Nursing Home. Nearly 250 people were on hand. Holcomb played basketball and won prizes in the ring toss at a little carnival held in his honor. Earlier in the day, nursing home residents wheeled through the halls of the nursing home and into the rooms of all the people who couldn't go outside to watch, Ford said, ''The wheelchairs were decorated to the hilt,'' Ford said.

Holcomb was born in Brown County, Kansas in 1889. When people ask him how he has lived so long, Ford, the youngest of Holcomb's five children, said he tells them one thing: He says "you live one day at a time the best you can." Holcomb has 5 children, 9 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great-grandchildren. Up until in his late '90s, he farmed hundreds of acres of land.
AP-NY-07-03-00 2137EDT

Here is a recent picture (May 5, 2000) of Mr. Antonio Todde (wearing a hat). Michel Poulain is on the left and Gianni Pes is on the right. ...

If Chuganji is still alive, he would rank between Todde and McMorran.

There was another man in Japan born on December 31, 1889 (who has now passed away) and some other claimants who might possibly be listed, but they are not fully documented. As for the USA, we know of one man in Utah and another in Pennsylvania, but they are not well-documented enough to be serious candidates. Six such candidates for the world's oldest man (mainly located by Mr. Robert Young) are as follows:

1. Juan Ramos of Tampa, Florida claims to have been born June 1880;
2. Eddlee Bankhead of Pennsylvania claims to have been born March 1883;
3. John Joe Begay (USA; Navaho from Utah) is now presumably age 114, but there are no corroborating data and dates are conflicting;
4. Nicklaas Amsdorf (South Africa) born August 23, 1887 is age 112;
5. Daniel Harekeb (Namibia) born August 10, 1888 is age 111.

We have just received word that Mr. Ezequiel Guzman Gallardo (Mexico) born April 11, 1887 died in February 2000 at age 112, so is no longer being considered; we have also been informed that Mr. Sadayoshi Tanabe from Japan, born on October 20, 1888, died at age 111 and 90 days in January 18, 2000.

mcall.com/cgi-bin/slwebsto.cgi?DBLIST=mc97&DOCNUM=33731

Documentation sent to Guinness after the death of Calment.

The oldest living man in the world was believed to be Mr. Christian Mortensen of San Rafael, California, at age 115. Although he claimed to have been born in Denmark on August 16, 1882, to our knowledge, this assertion was never recognized by the Guinness authorities in London, pending verification of appropriate documents.

See John R. Wilmoth's website of the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at UC Berkeley (2232 Piedmont Avenue; Berkeley, CA 94720-2120; 510-642-9688; E-mail: jrw@demog.berkeley.edu) for more details.áá Prof. Wilmoth writes that we should consult his paper "The Oldest Man Ever? A Case Study of Exceptional Longevity," The Gerontologist, Vol. 36, No. 6, pp. 783-788 (1996). This paper discusses his verification of Mr. Mortensen's age, and his reasons for believing that the cases of Messrs. Izumi and Jubert are probably mistaken.á He also mentions the case of Mr. Evans, which seems authentic, even if the verification process was less extensive than that for Mr. Mortensen.

UPDATE: We recently learned that Mr. Mortensen passed away on April 25, 1998.

January 11, 2002; See Prof. John Wilmoth's Berkeley Mortality Database for data enumerating not only death rates but births, life expectancies, and population sizes for the following four countries: USA, SWEDEN, FRANCE, and JAPAN. The SWEDISH data begins in 1749, while the US data starts in 1900, and JAPAN's in 1950. You can view the data in several ways, such as by one-year or ten-year intervals or in a life table showing numbers of deaths and death rates in each age group.

Thus, our next question is who now is the successor to the title of "The world's oldest man"?

If any of our GRG visitors knows of a candidate, we hope that you will do us the favor of contacting us.

In a reply to the above question, Mr. Louis Epstein wrote on February 3, 1999 that Mr. Herbert Young of Harlem, New York and Legion of Honor recipient is our new record holder at age 112. Louis asks whether any of our viewers can verify this fact with evidence to support their claim. Please E-mail us or him at le@put.com.

Subsequently, Louis wrote that "Mr. Young passed away on Thursday; April 22, 1999 at the age of 112 years 11 months." Then, he said, "I am not aware of any other rival to Mr. Denzo Ishisaki of Japan as the newest oldest-living-man (presently at 112 years), but of course he has years to go before he exceeds Mr. Mortensen or the claim Guinness accepts for Mr. Izumi."

Still later Louis wrote that "Denzo Ishisake died on April 29, 1999. He was five months yonger than Mr. Young (who made it to within two weeks of 113). If this is correct, he was the oldest man alive for just one week! "

December 17, 2001; Mr. Garcia Larrache has obtained a photo of the oldest man in Spain...

Mr. Joan Riudavets-Moll, then 113, meeting with then-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Mr. Joan ["John" in Catalan Spanish] Riudavets-Moll was born on December 15, 1889 and died at the age of 114 years, 81 days on March 5, 2004.
He lived on the Balearic Island of Minorca, SPAIN. His claim was validated by Dr. Michel Poulain, who wrote to us as follows:

While spending some days in Barcelona, I took the opportunity to go with some Catalonian colleagues in Minorca to visit and validate the case of Mr. Joan Riudavets.

He was born in Es Migjorn Gran on December 15, 1889. He was the second son of Pedro Riudavets Moll [1860 - 1927] and Catalina Moll Mercades [1864 - 1889] who died two weeks after his birth. Then, his Father remarried and had seven other children among which two brothers are surviving, born respectively in 1900 (Pedro) and 1907 (Jose). As a consequence, this is a very special case of male longevity. In the years [1911 - 1913] Joan was responsible for cultural activities in his village and a recent publication shows two photos of him when he was ages 20 and 25, respectively. Juan married in 1917 at age 27 to Miss Juana Jordi Sales who was then 28 and who died in 1975 when Joan was 86. Joan had three daughters, and he is now living with Franscica who is single and 78 years old! During his long life, Joan was a shoemaker, which is not unusual in Minorca. He didn't participate in WW I, as Spain itself was not involved. As far as the Spanish Civil War was concerned, he was already 48. Today, he leads a very quiet life, eats everything in normal portions, reads the newspapers, looks at the local TV Guide, goes to bed after Midnight and wakes up around Noon. Up to age 110, he road a bicycle, and I obtained a photo of him doing this. He autographed the photo, and he had no difficulty writing his signature. He spontaneously stood up when we were leaving after a two-hour long visit. As far as his health is concerned, he had an eye operation at age108 for cataracts. He is definitively exceptional and is in much better condition in comparison with Mr. Antonio Todde, whom I met when he was about the same age. All records have been checked carefully and copies have been made. All registers were well kept, and the surnames are consistent with both his Father's and Mother's names, including all the names of his four grandparents with indications of their survivorship.

February 12, 2002; 19th-century humorist Josh Billings once said, "I've never known a man to live to age100 and be known for anything else." While the age 100 may need to be placed at 110 using modern standards, the public perception is still there that "old folks never really do anything important except for the fact that they live a long time." Well, here may be a significant counterexample...

Mr. Alphaeus Philemon Cole was born July 12, 1876 and died November 25, 1988 at age 112 years 136 days. His portraits by are on sale today for $3,500.00.

February 25, 2002; Mr. Robert Young has provided us with three pictures of

Mr. Herman Smith-Johannsen (AKA "Jackrabbit"), a pioneer skier famous for popularizing cross-country or Nordic skiing in Canada . He was born on June 15, 1875 in Norway and died at age 111 on January 5, 1987 also in Norway. However, between these bookends, he spent much of his life in Canada.

February 26, 2002; Mr. Robert Young has provided us with a picture of

Mr. Joseph Ramies at his 110th birthday party, dancing with female entertainment (provided by his son-in-law, Earl Herbert). Mr. Ramies, originally from Kingland, GA but now a resident of St. Petersburg, FL, claims his birthdate as September 16, 1890; if validated, he would then be the second-oldest living man in the United States.
[ Editor's Note: Curiously, both men are now quite near each other in Florida. Joe looks like he's having a great party. What do you think?]
Robert Young suspects that Mr. Ramies is likely to be an "exaggerated case," as "his Grandparents were married in 1878 and his Mother was born in 1880. If Joe was really born in 1890, his Mother would have been ten years old at that time, which is not very likely. However, I believe that he is still an interesting case as an example of a senior having fun, whether he is 101 or 111 years old."
Robert Young reports that Mr. Ramies died on May 16, 2003 at the presumed age of 112.

July 14, 2002; Mr. Bart Versieck has just provided us with photos of

Mr. Jan Pieter Bos of the Netherlands, born on July 12, 1891 and died on December 15, 2002 in Rotterdam-IJsselmonde, at 111 years 156 days.

July 14, 2002; Mr. Arne Mialand of Lillesand, Norway and Robert Young of Atlanta, GA have sent us these photos of

Mr. Anders Engberg , born on July 1, 1892, who was the first man in Sweden to reach the age of 110 years since record-keeping began in 1860. Thus, he is the oldest Swedish man on record (discounting emigrants to the USA). The second picture on the right shows him being interviewed on the occasion of his 110th birthday by a reporter from Radio Holland.

The above black-and-white photo taken sometime between [1900 - 1910] shows Anders as a young man along with his siblings standing in back of their parents: Severin and Josefina. Anders is the taller boy. His brother is Gustaf. Sisters are Anna, Jenny, Emma, Alvina, and Selma from left to right. Their country house in back of them burned down in 1952. Also, Anders has a son named Evald.

November 6, 2003; Anders Engberg died today at age 111 years, 128 days. For those who can read Swedish, please click on his Obituary.

Swede, Oldest Man in Northern Europe, Dies Aged 111

March 6, 2003; Mr. Arne Mialand of Lillesand, Norway sent us this photo of

Mr. Olav [Terjesen] Hovatn, born October 23, 1892, taken on the occasion of his 110th birthday. He lives at a nursing home near Arendal, Norway. Olav reportedly goes to bed around 9:00 PM. He is reported to be astonished that his cousin Nils Neslaud, age 102, still lives on his own farm. Last December, Olav sent a Christmas card to Mr. Engberg in Sweden (see photos of Anders Engberg above). I don't know if they can read each other's languages, however, so some translation from Norwegian to Swedish may have been needed!
[ Editor's Note: Mr. N. B. Macdonald informs us that translation between Norwegian and Swedish is not really necessary; since with a little exposure to the 'other' language, they are mutually understandable. "When these two men were born, the two countries still shared one King (Swedish). Norway will celebrate its independence (100th-year Anniversary) in a couple of years."]
Olav is reported to have an exceptionally good memory and told everyone how he felt on New Year's Day January 1, 1900 and vividly remembers the Boer War (c. 1902). He was a farmer in his earlier life, but cannot advise us what he did in particular that caused him to live past 110.

April 28, 2003; Mr. Dag Hoesleth has just informed us that Mr. Hovatn died on April 26, 2003 at 110 years 185 days.

July 27, 2002; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has just sent us this photo of

Mr. John George Painter of the state of Tennessee. He claimed to have been born September 20, 1888 and to be the oldest American veteran at his death March 1, 2001 at the alleged age of 112. Subsequent investigation, however, found that he was listed in the January 1, 1920 census as 28 years old, which suggests a birth date of September 20, 1891. If this is correct, he would have been only 109 years old when he died March 1, 2001 and not America's oldest veteran. That would have been Mr. Will Charles Smith, who also claimed to be 112 but was listed by Social Security as 110 years old [born January 1, 1891; died April 19, 2002]. The oldest living veteran is now believed to be Mr. Robert Hodges of Stonewall, NC, who was born June 18, 1891. Click for more details.
Robert Young reports that Mr. John Painter may have been 112 years old after all.
The June 1900 Census listed him as born in September 1888, while
the 1910 Census said he was 19, and
the 1920 Census said he was 28 years old.
This suggests that he was really 112, but had reason to lie about his age earlier in his life
(we may speculated that he was embarrassed by having to admit that he was still living at home
at the age of 21 in 1910, and possibly also by not being married
at the age of 31 in 1920).

August 1, 2002; Following an E-mail from his relatives, Mr. Robert Young has just obtained a link to the website of

Mr. Linus Andrew Reinhart born: July 28, 1892 in Kirby, Ohio, and has just turned 110 years old. Click on the 2nd photo for his website. In the family photo on the left, Linus, at age 18, is actually the third from the left.

Editor's Note: We are sad to report that Mr. Reinhart died on June 14, 2003 at the age of 110 years, 321 days.

July 27, 2000. Mr. Louis Epstein reported today that Mr. Harry Halford, of Leicester, England, born June 15, 1891, died July 26, 2000 at the age of 109. So, he will never, in fact, become the "World's Oldest Man," despite having been briefly acclaimed as such by Guinness. If he was indeed Britain's oldest man, this event delays any new male Supercentenarian entry from that country.

August 4, 2002; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has sent us this photo of

Mr. Harry Halford who as we said above died at the age of 109. He does not really qualify as a Supercentenarian, since he was less than 110 at the time of his death, but we have decided to include his picture on this website anyway, since he was validated by The Guinness Book of Records and, if he had not died two years ago, he would still be only ranked as the 8th-oldest living man in the world, more than two years behind the current titleholder, Mr. Chuganji. However, Mr. Halford did represent something - a starting point - in that he began the Guinness "World's Oldest Man" Category back in April 2000.

December 15, 2002; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has sent us these photos of

Mr. Fred Harold Hale born on December 1, 1890 in the state of Maine. He is now 112 years old.

November 20, 2004; We have just learned that Mr. Fred Hale, Sr., the world's oldest man, passed away yesterday at age 113, just 12 days shy of his 114th birthday.

July 3, 2003; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has sent us this photo of

Mr. Hermann Dörnemann who was born on May 27, 1893 in Germany.
Mr. Thomas Breining of Germany has sent us another recent photo of

Hermann seen here drinking beer with other members of his family. His daughter Rita Klein (63 years old) is on the right, while her husband, Bernhard, is on the left. Dörnemann is a retired electrical engineer; and now, with the death of Mr. Fred Hale, Sr. of New York, qualified to become the Oldest Man in the World. Dörnemann presently lives with his children. Klein said his Father-in-Law takes a keen interest in the family and drinks a glass of beer nearly every day.

Hermann Dörnemann died on March 2, 2005 at the age of 111 years, 279 days.

October 12, 2003; Mr. Bart Versieck of Belgium has sent us these photos of

Mr. Louis Marion 110 years old, who was born on October 10, 1893 and resides in Houyet, BELGIUM.

Mr. Versieck informs us that Mr. Marion passed away on December 28, 2003 at age 110 years, 79 days.

Wednesday, July 9, 2003; We just interviewed

Mr. Gerald H. Gilman, age 110, born on April 30, 1893 in Springfield, Ohio. He lived most of his life in Dayton and came to the Los Angeles area back in 1941. He worked initially as an auto mechanic and later as a model-maker for North American Aviation (later Boeing) building models for wind tunnels. He and his wife (who died in 1956 at the age of 62) had two children, and his daughter, Pauline, now age 86 is pictured above with him. Pauline is still active as a piano teacher and player. Both he and his daughter live in the Canoga Care Center in Canoga Park, California. He stated that he believes that he has lived so long because he takes good care of himself and because he tries to "stay out of trouble."

February 28, 2004; We just received word the Mr. Gilman passed away on January 1, 2004 at the age of 110 years, 246 days.

November 12, 2003; Mr. Givanni Alunni has just sent us this photo of

Mr. Pasquale Frasconi from Northern Sardinia. As the oldest living Italian veteran of the First World War, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi conveyed the affection and gratefulness of the Italian people on the occasion of his birthday.

Givanni Alunni has informed us that the number of living male Supercentenarians has now fallen to an all time low with only 2 remaining out of a total of 43. He reports from Rome that Mr. Pasquale Frasconi died at his home in Northern Sardinia, where he had been living with his Nephew, on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 at age 110 years, 125 days.

April 2, 2004; Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, Georgia requests help in authenticating the following gentlemen from Puerto Rico...

Mr. Emiliano Mercado del Toro, 112 years old and a veteran of World War I.
Click for more details from a December 19, 2003 story in the New York Times.
Mr. del Toro's family E-mailed us last week, and he is clearly no longer in good health.
When we posted the Ramona Trinidad story, this resulted in three Census-match finds, while the William Coates of Maryland "false-case" story resulted in one Census-match find.

March 3, 2005; We received the following photo from Lt. Col. Robert W. Johnson, USAF (Ret.) Adjutant, Department of California Veterans of World War I of the USA

Emiliano Mercado and his Great Niece Dolores taken on January 28, 2005 at a reception immediately following the Guinness Certificate presentation to him in at the town plaza in Isabela, Puerto Rico.

Mercado, certified as the oldest living person in the world by The Guinness Book of World Records. ( AP File Photo, January 20, 2005 by Javier Gonzalez).

January 24, 2007; We are sad to report that Sr. Emiliano del Toro born August 21, 1891 in Puerto Rico and oldest living World War I Veteran, passed away peacefully at his home in Isabel, Puerto Rico early this morning at age 115 years, 156 days.

August 20, 2004
We are currently in the process of authenticating


Mr. George Johnson born May 1, 1894 in Philadelphia, PA and who moved to San Francisco, CA with his wife in 1935. Today, he lives independently in a house he built with his own hands in Richmond, CA. He never had any children of his own.
On June 18, 2006, Stephen Coles and Stanley Primmer visited Mr. Johnson on behalf of the Supercentenarian Research Foundation, finding him in good spirits, although his hearing is increasingly impaired in addition to his blindness. But he still living independently in his own house at this time and is able to get around with a walker instead of a wheel chair which is most uncommon for anyone reaching this age.

May 1, 2005; Mr. Johnson has been authenticated and is now 111 years old. The photo below was sent to us by Lt. Col. Robert W. Johnson, USAF (Ret.) Adjutant, Department of California Veterans of World War I of the USA, who visited him for his birthday and reports that, according to his records, George is the only surviving World War I Veteran in the state of California.

March 2, 2006; With the passing of Mrs. Marion Higgins, George now becomes the oldest Californian. Click his photo for a recent story in the Contra Costa Times.

August 30, 2006; We are sad to report that Mr. Johnson passed away this morning. The title of "Oldest Validated Person in California" is temporarily vacant.

August 26, 2004; We received these photos of

Mr. Ingemund Peterson who was born in Norway and moved to North Dakota when he was very young. He was born on June 6, 1894 and passed away on August 21, 2004 at age 110 years, 76 days. See The Jamestown Sun for Holly Jessen's more detailed Obituary.

November 13, 2004; Herr Thomas Breining, the GRG Representative from Germany has sent us these three photos of

Mr. Arno Wagner, of Germany, born June 4, 1894, and now age 110. The first black-and-white photo was taken in 1925 and shows Mr. Wagner with his wife, Magdalena, and his then young daughter, Roswitha.

December 29, 2004; We have now been informed that Mr. Wagner passed away on December 22, 2004 at age 110 years, 201 days.

November 19, 2004; We recently took these photos of

Mr. Henry George Hartmann, of La Jolla, California, born July 14, 1894 in Illinois, and now age 110 years old. His Daughter, Mrs. Eloise McDonald, is herself 87.

November 11, 2005; We have just learned from his Daughter, Eloise McDonald, that Mr. Hartman passed away yesterday at age 111, despite the fact that his vital signs were strong.

December 9, 2005; We have completed the gross anatomical autopsy of Mr. Hartman at the UCLA School of Medicine as well as a preliminary pass though the microscopic slides of different organs and have arrived at a tentative diagnosis for his Final Autopsy Report as Cardiac Idiopathic Primary Amyloidosis of the Pre-Albumin Type, which is the identical diagnosis for Mrs. Elma Grace Corning a year ago last July. We hope to publish these results in a pathology journal in the coming months.

December 8, 2004; Mr. Robert Young has just sent us this photo of

Mr. Moses Hardy, aged 111, was born January 6, 1893. He is a WW-I Veteran and may be the oldest living man in America. He currently lives in Aberdeen, MS.

December 7, 2006; We are sad to report that Mr. Hardy died today at age 113 years, 335 days.

May 6, 2005; This is the first case validation for part-time GRG correspondent, Mr. Daniel Kinske, who serves in the U.S. Navy and who just sent us this photo of himself with
Mr. Ernest Pusey, born May 5, 1895 in Washington, D.C. and who was validated this week at age 110. Ernest currently lives in Florida and holds a number of records: General Motor's oldest living retiree; a Navy WW-I Veteran; Florida's oldest man; and the age recordholder for the District of Columbia (i.e., the oldest verified person born in Washington, D.C.).

Ernest Pusey receives kisses from two belly dancers, Herminda (L) and Tahja (R), as he celebrates his 110th birthday at the American Legion, Post 24, on Thursday, May 6th.

We are sad to report that Mr. Pusey, the oldest person in Florida, passed away on November 19, 2006 at 111 years, 198 days.

Obituary, "Ernest Charles Pusey, 111; one of the Country's Longest-Lived WW-I Vets," The Los Angeles Times, p. B16 (November 26, 2006).

July 5, 2005; Mr. Robert Young has just sent us this photo of
Mr. Kohachi Shigetaka, born May 10, 1895 in Japan and passed away at the age of 110 years, 54 days on July 3, 2005.

September 18, 2005; Mr. William A. Warmington of New Jersey has just sent us these photos of his Uncle

Mr. Arthur M. Warmington, born on September 18, 1895 on the occasion of his 110th Birthday Party.

January 18, 2006; We have just learned that Mr. Warmington has passed away on Wednesday, January 11th at the age of 110 years 115 days.

June 6, 2006 "Fly-Past for Britain's Oldest Man: Mr. Henry Allingham"

Henry Allingham will be 110 on June 6, 2006. The Royal Air Force has scheduled a fly-past over the East Sussex coast to celebrate the 110th birthday of Britain's oldest man.

June 3, 2006 ( BBC News) -- Two tornadoes from 31 squadron are to fly over the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne for the anniversary on Tuesday. Mr Allingham, a World War I Air Service Veteran, lived in the town after retiring, but recently moved to a care home near Brighton. "He really does marvel at the fact he has reached the age he has," said close friend, Denis Goodwin. "It's going to be a tremendous day for Henry, and I'm sure he will enjoy it."

Mr Allingham will be joined by senior figures in the RAF for the fly-past. He will later have a private lunch with family members from the US. He served as a mechanic with the Royal Naval Air Service during the war, before transferring to the newly-created RAF. He is the last-remaining founder-member of the RAF and the only remaining survivor of the battle of Jutland.

He has five Grandchildren and 12 Great Grandchildren. In March, Mr Allingham was given the Freedom of Eastbourne, where he had lived since the 1960's. Three weeks ago he moved to St. Dunstan's, a care home for ex-service personnel, in Ovingdean.

May 22, 2008; (BBC News) -- "The UK's Oldest Man and One of Britain's Two Surviving WW-I Veterans Has Received an Honorary Doctorate"
Mr. Henry Allingham, aged 112, was awarded a doctorate in engineering at Southampton Solent University today. Click for the video at BBC News.

September 15, 2008

Mr. Henry Allingham was born on June 6, 1896 and is now 112.

Ref.: Martin Phillips, "I Cheered Boer War Vets in 1902" The Sun (September 13, 2008).

June 19, 2009; With the death today of Mr. Tomoji Tanabe of Southern Japan, Mr. Allingham assumes the title of the World's Oldest Man (as confirmed by Guinness World Records). Click for more details from the Telegraph.

July 18, 2009; We are sad to report that Mr. Allingham died today in England at age 113 years, 42 days. Click for more details.
Click on the photo below for still more details

from the BBC News.

July 19, 2009; An Obituary on the LA Times website has a nice video clip from the Associated Press.

June 13, 2006; Tokyo, JAPAN (AP) -- The oldest man in Japan, Nijiro Tokuda, has died at the age of 111, officials said Tuesday. "Tokuda, of Kagoshima in Southern Japan, died Monday night at a hospital where he had been treated since April," City Official Masayuki Nagahama said. Tokuda had just celebrated his 111th birthday on Saturday.

"Japan's oldest person is a 113-year-old woman, Yone Minagawa of Fukuoka, also in Southern Japan, who was born in January 1893," Health Ministry Official Ken Hongo said. Japan has one of the world's longest average life spans. In 2003, Japanese women set a record for life expectancy, at 85.3 years, while men live an average of 78.3 years.

July 8, 2006; Port Arthur, TX; Mr. Thomas D. Nelson, Sr., turns 111.

Ref.: Ashley Sanders, "Thomas Nelson Celebrates Birthday Milestone: Candy Store Owner Turns 111," The Port Arthur News.

January 9, 2007; We are sad to report that Mr. Nelson died today at age 111 years, 185 days.

February 8, 2007; We are sad to report that the oldest American man and World War I Veteran

Mr. Antonio Pierro of Italy and Massachusetts died today at age 110 years, 351 days.

March 26, 2007; Mr. Robert Young of Atlanta, GA has forwarded these photos of

Mon. Aimé Avignon, at 110 years and the current oldest man in France.
The second color photo is taken from a French newspaper from Alès, FRANCE showing Mon. Avignon surrounded by his four daughters.

August 23, 2007; Mon. Avignon passed away at 2:00 PM this afternoon at age 110 years, 202 days. See MidiLibre [in French] for details.

April 23, 2007; Lakewood, CO (Denver Post) --


Reuel Millar celebrated his 110th birthday March 1, 2007.

A 110-year-old man, reputed to be the seventh-oldest man in the world, died recently at his son's home in Lakewood. Mr. Millar was born March 1, 1897, the same year as Walter Winchell, who died in 1972; Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937; and author William Faulkner, who died in 1962.

According to Mr. E.A. Kral of the Gerontology Research Group, Millar was "the third-oldest living U.S. man when he died April 15th." "And he was only 17 months younger than the world's oldest living man, 111-year-old Tomoji Tanabe of Japan," according to Kral.

Millar was born in North Bend, NE, the oldest of five children born to Archie and Emma Clark Millar. Millar told the North Bend Eagle a few months ago, "God has a plan for me. I don't know what that is, and I'm not leaving until I find out."

On his birthday last month, he told The Denver Post he was out of new ideas for celebrating. "Well, I guess I'll go out here and crawl under a log," he joked. "I can't go very far. If I fall down once, I can't get up."

His son, Richard Millar, with whom he lived in Lakewood, said Millar was "a big, strong guy" with the constitution of someone who had worked hard all his life. He drove a car until he was 108.

"He had a harder time getting in and out of the car," said his Granddaughter Nancy Nett. "It was time (to stop driving); it was getting a little scary."

Richard Millar, who was born in 1926, said: "He used to tell me stories about riding a horse three miles to school with his sister. He had to get there early to start a fire in the stove and warm up the one-room schoolhouse. "He was a farmer until he was 26. He farmed with horses pulling the plows."

Shortly after World War I, he married Bernice Sollar Rodaway, and they moved to Anaconda, MT, where he worked at a copper smelter, eventually rising to Head Refiner. He also owned a small grocery store in Anaconda, as well as a soda fountain called Town Talk, which had a dance floor. "All the high-school kids used to hang out there, drinking cherry Cokes and dancing to the jukebox," Richard Millar said.

After World War II, Millar moved to Colorado, where he worked for Lloyd King, one of the partners in the Save-A-Nickel grocery stores. King soon left the company and started the King Soopers grocery chain.

Millar left with him and worked as a store manager for King Soopers until 1965, when he retired. Richard Millar was his only son. "Reuel Millar's wife, who had two sons from another marriage, died in 1975," said Richard, who spent his life as a drummer in ballroom bands.

_____________________

April 23, 2007; We are sad to report that Mr. Reuel Millar passed away on April 15, 2007 at age 110 years, 45 days.

June 19, 2007; Mr. George Rene Francis, born on June 6, 1896, had an early birthday party in Sacramento, CA (Click for the full story by Stephen Magagnini in the Sacramento Bee (June 4, 2007).

Note: This story incorrectly lists Mr. Francis as being 110 years old, but the GRG and The Guinness Book of World Records have corrected this one-year mistake along with the family. This makes Mr. Francis presently the oldest man in the US, even though there are still three other men ahead of him in the world (two in Japan and one in England).

August 27, 2007; Mr. George Francis, 111, of Sacramento, CA and two of his Daughters: Mrs. Lelia Veronica Francis LaRue (L) and Shirley Francis Wade ( R).

December 28, 2008; We have just been informed that Mr. George Francis of Sacramento passed away last night at age 112 years 204 days.

Click on the photo below for more details...

George Francis, who voted for Barack Obama, and Daughter Lelia LaRue look at news of his victory."

Ref.:

AP, "George Francis [1896 - 2008], Oldest Man in the United States, Dies at 112," The Los Angeles Times, p. B7 (December 29, 2008).

"Japanese Teetotaller Named World's Oldest Man at Age 111"

June 18, 2007; Tokyo, JAPAN (Reuters) -- An 111-year-old Japanese just named the world's oldest man said he owed his longevity to steering clear of alcohol. "I don't drink alcohol -- that is the biggest reason for my good health," Tomoji Tanabe told reporters on Monday. He also told media he does not smoke and likes a glass of milk a day. Asked how much longer he wanted to live, the besuited Tanabe, a former local government worker, said simply: "I don't want to die."

Tanabe, who lives with his 66-year-old Son and the Son's Wife in Miyakonojo, about 900 Km (560 miles) southwest of Tokyo on the island of Kyushu, met the city's mayor to receive a certificate from The Guinness Book of World Records recognizing him as the oldest man.

But he has some years to go to equal his female compatriot Yone Minagawa, 114, who is listed by Guinness as the world's oldest person and also lives in Kyushu.

However, a former shepherd in Ukraine, Hyrhory Nestor, also claims that title, saying he celebrated his 116th birthday in March. [ Editor's Note: This claim has not been validated. See the Incomplete Cases Section for a photo.]

The Japanese are among the world's longest-lived people, with 28,395 people aged 100 or above in Japan at the end of September last year, according to the Health Ministry. Researchers have attributed the phenomenon to factors including healthy diet and tight-knit communities.

___________

September 18, 2007; The world's oldest man celebrated his birthday today at age 112. Born in the same year as King George VI (who died in 1952), Mr. Tanabe said, "Being a teetotaler and sticking to a daily routine helped me stay young." He received flowers and a gift of ¥100,000 (UK£440 pounds; US$900) from the local Mayor.

"World's Oldest Man Wants To Live Forever"

Tuesday, September 18, 2007 (icWales) - Mr. Tomoji Tanabe, the World's Oldest Man, celebrated his 112th birthday today at his home in South-Western JAPAN with the Mayor presenting him a bouquet and a letter of congratulation. Tanabe, born on September 18, 1895, took the title in January after the death of Emiliano Mercado Del Toro of Puerto Rico, who - at 115 - was then the oldest person.

Earlier this year, Tanabe received a certificate from Guinness World Records certifying him as the World's Oldest Male. Today, asked how many more years he wants to live, Tanabe said " infinitely" according to Yasuo Yamashita, an official of Miyakonojo City in Miyazaki, where Tanabe lives with his Son and Daughter-in-law. "I want to live indefinitely. I don't want to die," he said, as he marked his birthday, Kyodo News Agency reported. A former city land surveyor, Tanabe appears to be in good health and drinks milk. He keeps a daily diary, avoids alcohol, and does not smoke.

In Japan, one of the world's most rapidly aging countries, there were 32,295 centenarians as of September 1st, according to the Health Ministry. The number of people aged 100 and over has almost quadrupled in the past ten years.

June 19, 2009; We are sad to report that Mr. Tanabe passed away in his sleep today at the age of 113 years, 274 days. Click on the first photo for more details from Japan Today.

Walter Breuning, 113, Oldest Man in the World

Click for a Wikipedia entry for Mr. Breuning.

December 8, 2007; Click for a Video Clip of Mr. Walter Breuning, 111, of Great Falls, Montana being fitted for a hearing aid through the generosity of The Hearing Place Foundation that donates such hearing aids to persons who can't afford them. His eyes lit up when he got his hearing back! CNN and KRTV's Fred Pfeiffer reports. [TRT = 2:19 min.]

Mr. Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in Melrose, MN

September 22, 2008

Click on the photo for news of Walter Breuning's 112th Birthday Party.

The first image above is a painting.

April 24, 2009; Click for a CBS-TV News Interview of Walter Breuning that has now been posted on YouTube. (TRT = 3:05 min).

July 18, 2009; With the death today of Mr. Henry Allingham of England, Mr. Breuning now becomes the oldest man in the world, pending validation by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Sunday morning, August 2, 2009 in Great Falls, MT...



Mr. Walter Breuning, 112, interviewed by Dr. Coles.

World's Oldest Man Marks 113th Birthday

September 21, 2009; Great Falls, MT (AP) A Montana resident who is considered to be the world's oldest man celebrates his 113th birthday Monday. A party for Walter Breuning was planned at the Rainbow Retirement Community in Great Falls. Montanta Gov. Brian Schweitzer was among those expected to attend. Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in Melrose, MN, and moved to Montana in 1918. He worked for the railroad for 50 years.

Ref.: KRTV-TV

July 24, 2010; Walter Breuning, the "World's Oldest Man," at his 113th birthday celebration in September in Great Falls, MT. Click for more details from The Wall Street Journal article "Scientists Seek To Tabulate Mysteries of the Aged."

March 10, 2010; Mr. Bill Richardson sent us this photo of

Mr. Walter Breuning, which was taken on February 26, 2010.

February 14, 2011; Mr. Hunter Weeks indicated that he is shooting a documentary film about Supercentenarians with Walter Breuning as a core part of the film. He recently visited Walter in Great Falls and took these photos. They spoke for about an hour and a half. Walter's doing pretty well and is still moving around easily with a walker.

April 5, 2011; Click for current news of Walter's hospitalization from KRTV.com.

April 14, 2011; We are sad to report that Mr. Breuning passed away today at age 114 years and 205 days. Click for his Obituary from Associated Press.

January 3, 2008; Kiyoshi Igarashi, 110 years old, born August 2, 1897 in Japan.

February 24, 2009; We are sad to report that Mr. Kiyoshi Igarashi passed away yesterday at age 111 years, 205 days.

January 20, 2008; One of the Last Two Surviving French Veterans of World War I Has Died at the Age of 110

Mon. Louis de Cazenave died at the age of 110. He was born on October 16, 1897. Click for more details.

March 18, 2008; "Mon. Lazare Ponticelli, Foreign Legionnaire was the last French Survivor of WW-I"

Both Louis de Cazenave and Lazare Ponticelli (France's official last two poilus, a term of endearment for French World War-I infantryman) coincidentally died at age 110 years, 96 days. Lazare died on March 12, 2008. He was born on December 7, 1897. Click for more details.

Refs.:

1. "France Honored Soldiers Who Fought in World War I As It Buried Its Last Veteran of That Conflict, Who Died at 110," The Wall Street Journal, p. A1 (March 18, 2008).

2. "France: World War I Vet Gets Hero's Burial," The Los Angeles Times, p. A9 (March 18, 2008).

3. AP, France: Last World War I Veteran Honored," The New York Times, p. A8 (March 18, 2008).

This is the end of the Photo File No. 1 of Male Supercentenarians. Click for File 2 of 3.