Centenarian
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| Senior citizens: |
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| Sexagenarian |
| Septuagenarian |
| Octogenarian |
| Nonagenarian |
| Centenarian |
| Supercentenarian |
Reaching an old age has fascinated people for ages. According to the ancient book Genesis (chapter 5 verse 27) Methuselah managed to become 969 years old. Today some maintain that the unusually high longevity of Biblical patriarchs are the result of an error in translation: lunar cycles were mistaken for the solar ones, and the actual ages are 13.5 times less. This gives 72 years for Methuselah, which is still an impressive number, bearing in mind the life expectancy of these times. This theory however, seems doubtful to others since patriarchs such as Mahalalel (5:15) and Enoch (5:21) were said to have become fathers after 65 "years." If the lunar cycle theory were accepted this would translate to an age of about 4 and 10 months.
Some of the (nonapocryphal) claimants to longevity records are (see also: "Known for attaining high age below):
- Jeanne Calment - oldest person ever whose age has been verified by modern documentation; born 1875, lived to the age of 122. This defines the human lifespan, which is set by the oldest documented individual who ever lived.
- Shigechiyo Izumi (1865-1986) - oldest male ever recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records
- Christian Mortensen (1882-1998) - oldest male widely accepted by scholars
- Habib Miyan - unauthenticated claim to be 132; believed by Indian court to be at least 125 (in 2003), having retired in 1938. If true--and assuming no other similarly unproven claim to be even older is also true-- then each day he lives would extend the human lifespan by one day.
Among Hindus, people who touch the feet of elders are often blessed with "May you live a hundred years". In Poland, Sto lat, a wish to live a hundred years, is a traditional form of praise and good wishes; the Jewish tradition, however, is more ambitious, "May you live as long as Moses", or 120 years. Chinese emperors were hailed to live ten thousand years.
List of centenarians
Here is a list of well-known centenarians (with supercentenarians emphasized strongly). This list is divided into sub-lists, according to how the centenarian became well known.
Activists/non-profit leaders
- Albert Jean Amateau (1889-1996)
- Melchora Aquino (1812-1919) "Mother of the Filipino Revolution"
- Catherine Bramwell-Booth (1883-1987), Salvation Army Commissioner
- Ruth Ellis (1899-2000)
- Alice Hamilton (1869-1970)
- Mother Jones (1830-1930)
- Paul Moyer Limbert (1897-1998), YMCA Secretary General
- Margaret Murie (1902-2003), conservationist
- Scott Nearing (1883-1983)
- Sanzo Nosaka (1892-1993)
- Margarete Schuette-Lihotzky (1897-2000)
- Thomas Wyatt Turner (1877-1978)
- Irvin F. Westheimer (1879-1980)
Actors/filmmakers/entertainers
- George Abbott (1887-1995)
- Rosa Albach-Retty (1874-1980)
- Etta Moten Barnett (1901-2004)
- Margaret Booth (1898-2002)
- George Burns (1896-1996)
- Dorothy Dickson (1893-1995)
- Mary Ellis (1897-2003)
- Liane Haid (1895-2000)
- Johannes Heesters (1903-Living)
- Bob Hope (1903-2003)
- Francis Lederer (1899-2000)
- Frederica Sagor Maas (1900-Living)
- Ivan Novikoff (1899-2002), ballet teacher
- Risto Orko (1899-2001), Finnish film producer and director
- Irving Rapper (1898-1999), film director
- Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003), German filmmaker
- Hal Roach (1892-1992)
- Tonio Selwart (1896-2002), actor and stage performer
- Athene Seyler (1889-1990)
- Ninette de Valois (1898-2001)
- Senor Wences (1896-1999)
- Estelle Winwood (1883-1984)
- Adolph Zukor (1873-1976)
Artists
- Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002)
- Theresa Ferber Bernstein (1890-2002)
- Alphaeus Philemon Cole (1876-1988)
- Hiragushi Denchu (1872-1979), Japanese sculptor
- Grandma Moses (1860-1961)
- Beatrice Wood (1893-1998)
Authors/poets/journalists
- Arthur Judson Brown (1856-1963)
- Fulgence Charpentier (1897-2001), Canadian journalist and columnist
- Nirad Chaudhuri (1897-1999)
- Geoffrey Dearmer (1893-1996)
- The Delany Sisters (1889-1999; 1891-1995)
- Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998)
- Richard Eberhart (1904-Living), Pulitzer-Prize winning poet
- Juan Filloy (1894-2000), Argentine writer
- Dorothy Frooks (1896-1997)
- Gregorio Fuentes (1897-2002)
- Edward K. Gaylord (1873-1974), newspaper publisher and philanthropist
- Ernst Juenger (1895-1998)
- Joseph Nathan Kane (1899-2002)
- Arthur Lehning (1899-2000), Dutch writer and anarchist-archivist
- Frances Partridge (1900-2004)
- Fernando Pessa (1902-2002), Portuguese journalist and radio broadcaster
- Carl Rakosi (1903-Living)
- Robert St. John (1902-2003)
- George Seldes (1890-1995)
- Grace Zaring Stone (1891-1991), pseudonym: Ethel Vance
- Walter Trohan (1903-2003), Chicago Tribune bureau chief and reporter
- Phyllis A. Whitney (1903-Living)
Businessmen
- Edward Bernays (1891-1995)
- Andrew George Burry (1873-1975)
- Godfrey Lowell Cabot (1861-1962), Cabot Corporation
- Albert Hamilton Gordon (1901-Living), Kidder, Peabody & Co.
- Cecil H. Green (1900-2003), Texas Instruments co-founder
- Garnet Hercules Mackley (1883-1986), head of New Zealand Railways
- R. Samuel McLaughlin (1871-1972)
- Roy Neuberger (1903-Living)
- Mohan Singh Oberoi (1898-2002)
- James Stillman Rockefeller (1902-Living), First National City Bank of New York
- Hermann von Siemens (1885-1986)
- Sir Thomas Sopwith (1888-1989), aircraft pioneer
- W. Clement Stone (1902-2002), insurance leader
- Sir James Swinburne (1858-1958)
- Abdul Majid Zabuli (1896-1998)
Educators/school administrators
- John Morton-Finney (1889-1998)
- Bertrand Leslie Hallward (1901-2003)
- Emily Howland (1827-1929)
- Seymour Lubetzky (1898-2003), librarian
- Millicent Carey McIntosh (1898-2001), President of Barnard College
- Albert E. Meyzeek (1862-1963) "Dean of Negro Education"
- Norman Walker Porteous (1898-2003), Dean at University of Edinburgh
- Laura Woolsey Lord Scales (1879-1990), Dean at Smith College
- Louis Round Wilson (1876-1979) librarian
Explorers
- Alexandra David-Neel (1868-1969)
- Ardito Desio (1897-2001)
- Helge Ingstad (1899-2001)
- Freya Stark (1893-1993)
- Jean-Frederic Waldeck (1766-1875)
Jurists/practitioners of law
- Sampson Salter Blowers (1742-1842)
- William A. Bootle (1902-Living)
- Melville Henry Cane (1879-1980), American lawyer and poet
- Lord Alfred Denning (1899-1999), Master of the Rolls
- Rush Limbaugh Sr (1891-1996), grandfather of talk radio star Rush Limbaugh
- Harold Raymond Medina (1888-1990)
- L. Welch Pogue (1899-2003)
- Hartley Shawcross (1902-2003)
- Samuel Williston (1861-1963)
- Joseph William Woodrough (1873-1977)
Military commanders
- Aaron Bank (1902-2004), "Father of Special Forces"
- Sir Philip Christison (1893-1993), British general
- Sir George Higginson (1826-1927), British General
- John L. Hines (1868-1968), General, Chief of Staff US Army
- Stanislaw Maczek (1892-1994) Polish General
- James Alward Van Fleet (1892-1992)
- Sir Provo Wallis (1791-1892), Admiral of the Fleet
Musicians/Composers/music patrons
- Irving Berlin (1888-1989), composer
- Eubie Blake (1883/1887-1983) - may actually have only been 96
- Irving Caesar (1895-1996)
- Jimmie Davis (1899-2000), singer, songwriter, Governor of Louisiana
- Anthony Galla-Rini (1904-Living), known as "Mister Accordion"
- Roy Henderson (1899-2000)
- Bill Johnson (1872-1972)
- Paul Le Flem (1881-1984) French composer
- Conrad Leonard (1898-2003), pianist and composer
- Sir Robert Mayer (1879-1985)
- Marcel Mule (1901-2001)
- Manuel Patricio Rodriguez Garcia (1805-1906), music and singing teacher
- Leo Ornstein (1892-2002)
- Joseph Salemi (1902-2003), jazz trombonist
- Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995)
Nobility
- Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne (1901-2002)
- Ethel Sydney Keith, Countess of Kintore (1874-1974)
- Frank Douglas-Pennant, 5th Baron Penrhyn (1865-1967)
- Judith, Countess of Listowel (1903-2003)
Philosophers/theologians
- Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002)
- Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000), pioneer of process theology
- Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983)
- Oswald von Nell-Breuning (1890-1991)
- Alfred Vaucher (1887-1993), French theologian, church historian
- Paul Weiss (1901-2002)
Politicians/government servants
- Mahmud Celal Bayar (1884-1986), third President of Turkey
- Samuel Brawand (1898-2001), Swiss politician
- Roswell Keyes Colcord (1839-1939)
- Cornelius Cole (1822-1924), longest-lived US senator
- Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres (1721-1824)
- Georges-Casimir Dessaulles (1827-1930), Canadian senator
- Willem Drees (1886-1988), prime minister of the Netherlands
- Eleanor Lansing Dulles (1895-1996), U.S. diplomat
- Jules Ellenberger (1871-1973), British colonial administrator
- Josef Felder (1900-2000)
- Hamilton Fish III (1888-1991), US Congressman
- Marinus van der Goes van Naters (1900-Living), Dutch politician
- John Netherland Heiskell (1872-1972), 2nd US senator to reach 100 years
- Naruhiko Higashikuni (1887-1990)
- Christopher Hornsrud (1859-1960), Prime Minister of Norway
- George F. Kennan (1904-Living), Cold War policy architect
- Alfred M. Landon (1887-1987), governor of Kansas and presidential nominee
- Sir Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885)
- Sir William Mulock (1844-1944), Canadian politician and cabinet member
- Muhammad al-Muqri (c. 1840s? - 1957)
- George Alexander Parks (1883-1984), territorial governor of Alaska.
- Antoine Pinay (1891-1994), French prime minister
- Eduard Bernard Andrzej Raczynski (1891-1993), Polish diplomat
- Richard G. Reid (1879-1980), premier of Alberta
- Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977)
- Murray Seasongood (1878-1983), mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Ramon Serrano Suner (1901-2003), Spanish politician
- Emanuel Shinwell (1884-1986)
- Soong May-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek) (1898-2003)
- John Ward Studebaker (1887-1989)
- Reginald H. Sullivan (1876-1980), mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana
- Maurice H. Thatcher (1870-1973), US Congressman
- Strom Thurmond (1902-2003)
- David Wark (1804-1905)
- Zhang Qun (1889-1990), Chinese politician
- Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsueeh-liang) (1901-2001)
- Xenophon Zolotas (1904-Living), former Prime Minister of Greece
Relative of someone well-known
- Brooke Astor (1902-Living), wife of W. Vincent Astor
- Jean Faircloth (1898-2000), wife to Douglas MacArthur
- Mary Hanford (1901-2004), mother of Elizabeth Dole
- Rose Kennedy (1890-1995), mother of John F. Kennedy
- Richard Mudd (1901-2002), grandson of Samuel Mudd
- Ruby Muhammad (1897-Living) wife of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad
- Cecelia Gertrude Lenerz Pulvermacher (1895-1999), mother of Lucian Pulvermacher, self-made Antipope Pius XIII.
- Martin Konigsberg (1900-2001), father of Woody Allen
Religious leaders/Clergymen
- Laban Ainsworth (1757-1858), American clergyman and pastor
- Saint Anthony (251-356)
- Corrado Cardinal Bafile (1903-Living)
- Henry Boehm (1775-1875)
- Arthur Judson Brown (1856-1963) American clergyman, missonary and author
- Archbishop Alfonso Carinci (1862-1963), official of the Roman Curia
- Edward Howard (1877-1983), archbishop
- Francesco Minerva (1904-Living), Archbishop emeritus of Lecce, Italy
- John Linus Paschang (1895-1999), bishop of Grand Island, Nebraska
- Tillit Sidney Teddlie (1885-1987), American hymnalist and pastor
- Daniel Waldo (1762-1864)
- Herbert Welch (1862-1969), Methodist Bishop and President of Ohio Wesleyan University
Royalty
- Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901-Living)
- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002)
Scientists/mathematicians
- Charles G. Abbot (1872-1973), astronomer and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- Wilson Baker, FRS (1900-2002) headed school of chemistry at University of Bristol, England
- Arnold O. Beckman (1900-Living)
- Hans Erhard Bock (1903-living), German physician, Tuebingen
- Su Buqing (1902-2003)
- Michel Eugene Chevreul (1786-1889)
- Harriette Chick (1875-1977)
- Rickard Christophers (1873-1978), protozoologist
- William David Coolidge (1873-1975)
- Ray Crist (1900-Living), chemist, retired from teaching post in 2004
- Gordon S. Fahrni (1887-1995)
- Raymond Firth (1901-2002)
- Viktor Hamburger (1900-2001)
- Rudolf Hell (1901-2002)
- Edward Augustus Holyoke (1728-1829)
- Ancel Keys (1904-Living)
- Nathaniel Kleitman (1895-1999) discoverer of REM sleep
- Paul E. Klopsteg (1889-1991)
- Jerome F. Lederer (1902-2004)
- Inge Lehmann (1888-1993)
- Margaret Alice Murray (1863-1963)
- Franco Rasetti (1901-2001)
- Waldo Semon (1898-1999)
- Dirk Jan Struik (1894-2000)
- F. William Sunderman (1898-2003)
- Leopold Vietoris (1891-2002), mathematician
- Zheng Ji (1900-Living) professor of Nanjing University, Chinese pioneer of nutriology and biochemistry.
Sportspeople
- Constance M. K. Applebee (1873-1981), field hockey
- Jacques Gerschwiler (1898-2000), figure skating
- Fred W. Hooper (1897-2000), racehorse owner
- Keizo Miura (1904-Living), Japanese skier and ski instructor
- Ted Radcliffe (also known as "Double Duty Radcliffe") (1902-Living)
- Herman Smith-Johannsen (1875-1987), cross-country skiing
- Amos Alonzo Stagg (1862-1965), American football
- Leon Stukelj (1898-1999), olympian
Miscellaneous
- Henri Dufaux (1879-1980), aviator
- Eleanor Lambert (1903-2003), U.S. fashion pioneer
- Irene Wells Pennington (1898-2003), multimillionaire oil widow
- Connie Douglas Reeves (1901-2003), cowgirl
- Saadi (1184-1283/1291)
- Len Vale-Onslow (1900-2004),British motorcycle maker
Known for attaining high age
- Thomas Parr (1483??-1635), lived for 152 years according to his gravestone at Westminster Abbey, but probably a conflation of grandfather and grandson.
- Katherine Young (1901-Living), may be the oldest internet user
- Charlotte Benkner (1889-Living), possibly oldest now living
- Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan (1889-Living), documented in 2004 as slightly older than Benkner
External link