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|{{flag|Brazil}}
|{{flag|Brazil}}
|29 February 2008<ref name=Silva>[http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.rankbrasil.com.br/Site/GoogleResultado.aspx%3FBuscaLocal%3D68%26q%3D1&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Maria%2BOlivia%2Bda%2BSilva%2522%2B128%2Brankbrasil%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX RankBrasil: Women More Idosa of Brazil Full 128 years (translated)]</ref>
|29 February 2008<ref name=Silva>[http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.rankbrasil.com.br/Site/GoogleResultado.aspx%3FBuscaLocal%3D68%26q%3D1&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Maria%2BOlivia%2Bda%2BSilva%2522%2B128%2Brankbrasil%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX RankBrasil: Women More Idosa of Brazil Full 128 years (translated)]</ref>
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|Tutı Yusupova
|1 July 1880
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|F
|{{flag|Uzbekistan}}
|29 January 2009 <ref name=Yusupova> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7857591.stm] </ref>
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|Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodríguez
|Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodríguez

Revision as of 09:30, 29 January 2009

Longevity claims are claims to extreme longevity (110 or older) that either cannot be verified or for whom only some evidence is available. Longevity claims differ from existing verified supercentenarian cases, and also from longevity myths in that either some evidence exists, the case has not been proven false, and/or the claim was not constructed as a result of a longevity myth, which tends to focus on the village elder concept, fountain of youth concept, nationalist mythology, racial mythology, patriarchal mythology, etc. One test of this is the idea, put forth by William Thoms in the 1870s, of the 100th birthday test: is there evidence of the person claiming to be age 100 some 10 or more years prior to their claim? This test does not prove a person's age (indeed, Susie Brunson passed this test, but later was shown to have exaggerated her age well before this time). However, this test does separate the typical pension-claim longevity exaggeration (which tends to run to about age 115 up to 125) and the myth of longevity claim, whereby a spontaneous claim is made that a certain village elder is 150 or 167. E.g.: Bir Narayan Chaudhuri may have claimed to be 141 years old in 1998, but there was no evidence of a 100th birthday party 41 years earlier.

Problems with the documentation process

In the transitional period of record-keeping, records tend to exist for the wealthy and upper-middle classes, but are often spotty and non-existent for the poor. In the United States, birth registration did not begin in Mississippi until 1912 and was not universal until 1933. Hence, there is the problem of many cases whereby no actual birth record exists. Since some were recorded in the census, however, there may be obtainable evidence that tends to support the age claim. Sometimes, however, a single year may be off. In the case of Susie Gibson, for example, the family (and Susie herself) claimed her to be born on 31 October 1889, but no birth document has (yet) been located. The earliest record available, the 1900 census, lists her as born in October 1890. Hence, since the 1900 census is a proximate record (not written in 1890), it can be said that there is a near-certainty that Susie was at least 115, and it's still possible that she was in fact 116. In a similar, related case, inconsistent records suggested that Maggie Barnes was at least 115, but possibly a year older. Documentarians tend to "err on the side of caution". Thus, Barnes claimed to be 117, and was at least 115, but could have been 116.

In some cases a person may just miss the standards required for acceptance. For example, Rosa Williams of College Park, Georgia died in January 2001, allegedly born in May 1886. The 1910 census listed her as 22, suggesting she was born in May 1887 or May 1888. Hence, we cannot be certain of her age, but some evidence exists to support the claim. This type of case is said to be partially validated, although she was at least 112, so a supercentenarian regardless.

In another type of case, the only records that exist are late-life documents. Because age inflation often occurs in adulthood (to avoid military service; to apply for a pension early, or because the government began record-keeping during their mid-lifetime), unverified claims also exist. Unverified claims are less likely to be true (because the records are written later), but are still possible. However, because demographic mortality tables show ages above 130 to be extremely unlikely to be true (on the order of trillions to one odds), it would be best to assume that unverified claims to age 130 and above are automatically false, and hence best served by longevity myths. The purpose of longevity claims, then, is to serve as an inventory for the grey area between validated (certainly true cases) and mythical (cases improbable in the extreme that nonetheless may be accepted as valid under non-scientific discourses, such as religion). For example, Hanna Barysevich of Belarus, who claimed to have been 118, can neither be verified nor debunked, and the age claim was within the realm of possibility (the maximum proven age being 122). Hence, her case was a longevity claim.

Lists of longevity claims

The below lists are meant to show the present and past range of longevity claims, in the grey area between verified and impossible. The lists should be viewed as a spectrum, with the lower ages being more likely to be true and the higher ages less likely to be true.

These lists also serve the purpose of showing the wide range of distribution of extreme claims, which refutes the contention that such claims are particular to only certain "longevity villages". The lists also help to dispel the notion that one claimant should be accepted (without records) while ignoring all the other claims out there (which would also have to be accepted if records weren't required). Finally, because a few of the claims may be true but records do not exist or have not been found, the lists serve the third purpose of categorizing those grey area cases (such as the one of Maria Strelnikova of Russia) that could be true, but have not (yet) been proven as such.

Recent claims with no records (presumed to be living) 113+

These cases have no publicly available early-life records to support them, but have been made in the press. At the very least, the person should have a claimed year, month and day of birth to be listed here. Claims that don't should be listed in the article about longevity myths. Only claims of at least 113 are included here. If a case has not been brought up to date in the last two years, it is moved to the "limbo" list (a one-year window is used for validated cases; the issue here is tracking alternative claims, not providing statistical information). Note: The current oldest verified living person is Gertrude Baines of the United States who is 114.

Name Claimed birth Alleged age Sex Country of Residence Last Known Update
Moloko Temo[1] 4 July 1874 150 years, 185 days F  South Africa 23 October 2008
Maria Olivia da Silva 28 February 1880 144 years, 312 days F  Brazil 29 February 2008[2]
Tutı Yusupova 1 July 1880 F  Uzbekistan 29 January 2009 [3]
Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodríguez 2 February 1885 139 years, 338 days F  Cuba 25 December 2008[4]
Cliceria Gómez-Morales 20 September 1885 139 years, 107 days F  Mexico 28 April 2007[5]
Ida Stewart[6][7] 5 November 1886 138 years, 61 days F  Jamaica 7 January 2009
Sadiq Sawut[8] 9 August 1887 137 years, 149 days M  China 7 October 2008
Magomed Labazanov[9] 1 May 1890 134 years, 249 days M  Russia 5 May 2008
Maikup Zhan[10] 15 June 1890 134 years, 204 days F  China 7 October 2008
Ana María Pérez González[11] 22 June 1890 134 years, 197 days F  Mexico 23 June 2008
Baji Safaorva[citation needed] 3 July 1890 134 years, 186 days F  Azerbaijan
Amai Cering[12] 16 March 1891 133 years, 295 days F  China
Sóstenes Martínez[13] 22 April 1891 133 years, 258 days M  Mexico
Elias Athanasiades[citation needed] 14 May 1891 133 years, 236 days M  Greece (born in  Ottoman Empire)
María Díaz Cortés[14] 4 January 1892 133 years, 1 day F  Spain 3 January 2009
Rebecca Lanier[15] 24 March 1892 132 years, 287 days F  United States 24 March 2008
Elizabeth Johnson[16][17] 25 December 1892 132 years, 11 days F  United States 13 January 2009
Richard Washington[18] 15 April 1893 131 years, 265 days M  United States
Lu Zijian[19] 15 October 1893 131 years, 82 days M  China 9 September 2007
Virginia Call[20] 4 January 1894 131 years, 1 day F  United States 3 January 2009
Tatekulu Wilhem Shinima Niilenge[21] 6 April 1894 130 years, 274 days M  Namibia 11 January 2008
He Wenzhang[22] 9 April 1894 130 years, 271 days M  China 7 October 2008
Tǎnase Tǎnase 15 October 1894 130 years, 82 days M  Romania 15 July 2007[23]
María Norberta Rivera-Ramírez 5 June 1895 129 years, 214 days F  Mexico 15 October 2008[24]
Transito Ayala 13 August 1895 129 years, 145 days F  Colombia 14 August 2008[25]

Limbo cases (no updates within at least two years)

Name Claimed birth Alleged age (if living) Sex Country of Residence Last Known Update
Feime Hassanova 14 April 1879? 145 years, 266 days F  Bulgaria April 1999[26]
Noninji Elizabeth Bete 21 May 1886? 138 years, 229 days F  South Africa December 2005
Goshada Tsallaeva 15 November 1886 138 years, 51 days F  Russia July 2006[27][28]
Józef Piotrowski 7 September 1887 137 years, 120 days M  Poland 8 September 2005
Amelia Costa dos Santos 15 May 1888? 136 years, 235 days F  Brazil April 2005
LaJean Smith 23 June 1889 135 years, 196 days F  United States June 2006[29]
Marfa Salaikijskaja 10 September 1889? 135 years, 117 days F  Lithuania September 2004
Floripes Luzia Damasio 13 December 1889 135 years, 23 days F  Brazil 2005[30]
Clara MacLeash 1 January 1890 135 years, 4 days F  Jamaica January 2006[citation needed]
Pa Igboezu Asoegwu 20 April 1890 134 years, 260 days M  Nigeria April 2006[30]
Khabibamal Khamitova 1 July 1890 134 years, 188 days F  Russia July 2006[31]
Ángel Alberto Rengifo Cerquera 31 December 1891 133 years, 5 days M  Colombia 22 August 2006[32]
Ellen Spencer 3 January 1893 132 years, 2 days F  Jamaica 22 January 2006[33]

Longevity claims of the past (112+)

Note: only claims with a claimed birth and death date, and an age between 112 and 130 are included. For this article, claims above 130 are considered to be longevity myths. Disproven claims should also be listed in longevity myths. This list here represents the 'grey' area of cases on the cusp of believability.

Name Claimed birth Death Alleged age Sex Country (birth/death, if different from each other)
Habib Miyan[34] 20 May 1878? 19 August 2008 130 years 91 days M  India
Maria Do Carmo Geronimo[35] 5 March 1871? 14 July 2000 129 years 101 days F  Brazil
Mary Ewen[36] 5 May 1878? 10 April 2007 128 years 340 days F  Jamaica
Cruz Hernández[37] 3 May 1878? 8 March 2007 128 years 309 days F  El Salvador
Elizabeth Israel 27 January 1875? 14 October 2003 128 years 260 days F  Dominica
Swami Kalyan Dev 26 June 1876? 12 July 2004 128 years 16 days M  India
Tshinyelo Dora Muzila[38] 4 May 1880? 14 January 2008 127 years 255 days F  South Africa
Benito Martínez Abrogán[39] 19 June 1880? 11 October 2006 126 years 114 days M  Haiti/ Cuba
Jackson Pollard[40] 15 December 1869? 25 October 1995 125 years, 314 days? M  United States
Juan Ramos 24 June 1880? 24 January 2006 125 years 214 days M  Cuba/ USA
Aberewa Grace[41] 16 August 1878? 18 January 2004 125 years 155 days F  Ghana
Alberta Davis 24 December 1881? 27 January 2007 125 years 34 days F  United States
Anna Visser 25 December 1878? 8 January 2004 125 years 14 days F  Namibia
Augusta Watts 15 August 1876? 9 July 2001 124 years 328 days F  United States
Maria Etelvina dos Santos 15 July 1878? 8 March 2003 124 years 236 days F  Brazil
Armando Frid[42] 24 May 1866? 28 July 1990 124 years 65 days M  Argentina
Ana Martinha da Silva 27 August 1880? 27 July 2004 123 years 337 days F  Brazil
Arthur Reed[43] 28 June 1860? 15 April 1984 123 years 292 days M  United States
Hava Rexha[44] 22 August 1880? 8 November 2003 123 years 78 days F  Albania
Mark Thrash[45] 25 December 1820? 17 December 1943 122 years 357 days M  United States
Oberia Coffin 1 December 1883? 18 October 2006 122 years 321 days F  United States
Dora Jacobs 6 May 1880? 19 January 2003 122 years 258 days F  South Africa
Mamie Evans 2 July 1872? 15 January 1995 122 years 197 days F  United States
David Peterson 22 November 1850? 31 May 1973 122 years 190 days M  United States
Sarah Hoover 25 June 1874? 15 December 1996 122 years 173 days F  United States
Lich Nguyen 4 December 1876? 11 December 1998 122 years 7 days M  Vietnam/ United States
Mary Duckworth 4 June 1861? 19 April 1983 121 years 319 days F  United States
William DuBerry 7 February 1870? 14 November 1991 121 years 279 days M  United States
Fred Greenwell 26 January 1880? 22 January 2001 120 years 362 days M  United States
Joseph Brunner [46] 26 November 1706? 19 November 1827 120 years 358 days M  Germany
Atidje Starkova 12 May 1875? 24 January 1996 120 years 257 days F  Bulgaria
Pearl Gartrell[47] 1 April 1888? 23 November 2008 120 years, 236 days F  United States
Du Pinhua[48] 22 April 1886? 11 December 2006 120 years, 233 days F  China
Ruperto Hernández[49] 13 June 1887? 10 August 2007 120 years 58 days M  Nicaragua
Li Cairong[50] 12 November 1885? 9 May 2005 119 years 178 days F  China
Emma Bodie Begay 3 November 1887? 6 April 2007 119 years 154 days F  United States
Józef Buszyło[51] 7 October 1887? 8 March 2007 119 years 152 days M  Poland
Hanna Barysevich 18 May 1888? February, 23 2007 118 years 281 days F  Belarus
Rose Peter[52][53] 21 February 1883? 26 September 2001 118 years 217 days F  Dominica
Alberto Yoip 12 May 1886? 23 July 2004[54] 118 years 72 days M  Cuba
Varvara Semennikova 10 May 1890? 9 March 2008 117 years 304 days F  Russia
Dominga Pantoja Nique[55] 11 May 1889? 14 February 2007 117 years 279 days F  Peru
Maria Andersson 24 December 1828? 24 August 1946 117 years 243 days F  Finland
Li Ada 11 April 1889? 24 September 2006 117 years 166 days F  China
Katie Bruce 11 March 1890? 16 July 2007 117 years 127 days F  United States
Nellie Chee[56] 15 October 1889? 14 November 2006 117 years 30 days F  United States
Agora Rafle 13 March 1890? 9 January 2007? 116 years 302 days F  Romania
Tránsita Santana Damil 15 August 1888? 2 June 2004 115 years, 292 days F  Chile
Amanda Aguilar[57] 3 May 1890? 14 February 2007 116 years 287 days F  Nicaragua
Nils Ohrberg 10 January 1700? 12 October 1816 116 years 276 days M  Sweden
Hryhoriy Nestor[58] [58] 15 March 1891? 14 December 2007 116 years 274 days M  Ukraine
Clementina Rodríguez Quiros[59] 13 November 1891? 23 March 2008 116 years 131 days F  Panama
Minnie Lee Nave 15 August 1890? 21 November 2006 116 years 98 days F  United States
Paweł Parniak 27 February 1890? 27 March 2006 116 years 28 days M  Poland
Maria Strelnikova 15 March 1890? 3 May 2005 115 years 49 days F  Russia
Carmen Catrileo Hualla 18 July 1892 22 February 2005 112 years, 219 days F  Chile

Incomplete Cases

Here are claims which are incomplete e.g Either missing an exact birthdate or deathdate.

Name Claimed birth Death Alleged age Sex Country (birth/death, if different from each other)
Katrina Cuaresma Sapal[60] 1875? 10 June 2004[61] 129? years F  Philippines
Leah Lesczynski[62] 1768? December 1892 124 years F  United States
Zeyneb Mammadova[63] 1886? September 2008 122 years F  Azerbaijan
Annibal Camoux 1638? 1759 121 years M  France
Maria Shakwei Chepkemoi[64] 1885 August 2004 119 years F  Kenya
Anton Adner[65][66] 1704/1705? 15 March 1822 117 years M  Germany
Franz Josef Eder[67] 1794? 5 May 1911 116 years M  Germany
Daniel Wanjau[68] 1889? August 2004 115 years M  Kenya

False and exaggerated claims (living)

These are claims that have been shown to be exaggerated:

  • Rosa Brown of Pleasantville, New Jersey, allegedly born 15 March 1890; now said to be born in 1901
  • Rosie Dollison of Whitehaven, Tennessee, allegedly born 10 June 1891; now said to be born in 1904

References

  1. ^ Sowetan:Bid to have ‘oldest granny’ recognised
  2. ^ RankBrasil: Women More Idosa of Brazil Full 128 years (translated)
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ News story; still living as of 25 December 2008
  5. ^ News story; still living as of 28 April 2007
  6. ^ Report on Ida Stewart. Still alive as at 7 January 2009
  7. ^ Special Assistance for Centenarians
  8. ^ "Sadiq Sawut".
  9. ^ News report on Magomed Labazanov at claimed age 118
  10. ^ "Maikup Zhan".
  11. ^ El Universal, Cumple 118 Años
  12. ^ Oldest Tibetan celebrates 117th birthday
  13. ^ MILENIO.COM » Cumplió 116 años Sóstenes Martínez, el hombre más longevo del mundo
  14. ^ Report on Maria Diaz Cortés' claimed 117th birthday
  15. ^ Report on Rebecca Lanier's claimed 116th birthday
  16. ^ Elizabeth Johnson alive at the start of 2009
  17. ^ Report on Elizabeth Johnson's claimed 113th birthday
  18. ^ [citation needed]
  19. ^ "Lu Zijian" (PDF). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |fotmat= ignored (help)
  20. ^ Report on Virginia Call's claimed 115th birthday
  21. ^ Namibia: World's Oldest Man is 113 Years And Namibian
  22. ^ "He Wenzhang".
  23. ^ Tudor, Paula Anastasia (15/07/2007). "Cel mai bătrăn bărbat din lume". Jurnalul National (in Romanian). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ MacBeath, Manuel Mora. "Vive 3 siglos". Periódico AM.
  25. ^ Report of 113th Birthday on RCN News
  26. ^ Bulgarian female possibly oldest person in the world
  27. ^ Report on Goshada Tsallaeva's claimed 120th birthday in 2006 Template:Fr icon
  28. ^ News Report on Goshada Tsallaeva's claimed 120th birthday in 2006 Template:Ru icon
  29. ^ News report on Lajean Smith's claimed 117th birthday
  30. ^ a b Gerontology Research Group: World's Oldest Claimants
  31. ^ Report on the claimed 116th birthday of Khabibamal Khamitova Template:Es icon
  32. ^ Article mentioning Angel Alberto Rengifo Cerquera Template:Es icon
  33. ^ McFarlane, Deanna (January 22, 2006). "Impressive! At 113, Ellen Spencer is a window to the past". Jamaica Observer.
  34. ^ Variously claimed birth in 1878, 1872, 1870, and 1869. 1878 is per the original claim.BBC: 'Oldest man' passes away in India
  35. ^ Maria Do Carmo Geronimo claimed to have been the last Brazilian slave. [2]
  36. ^ Jamaica Gleaner News - 128-y-o Jamaican woman dies - Tuesday | 1 May 2007
  37. ^ "World's oldest person" dies in El Salvador
  38. ^ News report on the death of Tshinyelo Dora Muzila
  39. ^ Cuba's oldest man dies at 126
  40. ^ Jackson Pollard claimed to be 128 years old; his Social Security record stated 125.
  41. ^ Oldest grandma dies at 126 at Tepa
  42. ^ Armando Frid, Argentinian said to be 124
  43. ^ Arthur Reed claimed to have been the last United States slave.
  44. ^ Albania's Oldest Woman Dies at 123
  45. ^ Mark Thrash was listed as 77 in the 1900 United States Census.
  46. ^ Steinalt in Altenstein | Nachrichten | mainpost.de
  47. ^ Report on death of Pearl Gartrell at age 120
  48. ^ Obituary for Du Pinhua
  49. ^ El Nuevo Diario - Managua, Nicaragua - Con Todo el Poder de la Información
  50. ^ 'Oldest woman' dies at 119
  51. ^ Kurek Mazurski (05/08)
  52. ^ Report on birthday, with a picture of Rose Peter
  53. ^ Centenarian dies at 118
  54. ^ Haitianos Centenarios
  55. ^ El Comercio / Nacional / Jueves, 15 de febrero de 2007
  56. ^ Nellie Chee was a Native American.
  57. ^ Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional
  58. ^ a b 'Oldest human being' dies at 116 Cite error: The named reference "Nestor" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  59. ^ Report on the death of Clementina Rodriguez Quiros Template:Sp icon
  60. ^ World's oldest living woman in Sarangani?
  61. ^ World’s oldest – 129-yr-old Sarangani Muslim princess–dies
  62. ^ "SAID TO BE 124 YEARS OLD.; LEAH LESCZYNSKI, A RUSSIAN WOMAN, DIES IN A TENEMENT". New York Times. December 28, 1892. p. 9.
  63. ^ APA - Oldest resident of Nakhchivan dies at 122
  64. ^ People's Daily Online -- Kenya's oldest woman dies at age 119
  65. ^ Kein Schutz für Anton Adner
  66. ^ Bayerische Staatszeitung
  67. ^ Guinness World Records - German - Home Page
  68. ^ Living to see three centuries
  • The idea of the demographic transition of longevity claims can be found in books published by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research at [3].
  • Lists and further discussion of cases may be found at [4] or [5].
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