Sarah Knauss
Sarah Knauss | |
|---|---|
| File:SarahKnauss1979.jpg Knauss in 1979, c. 98–99 years old | |
| Born | Sarah DeRemer Clark September 24, 1880 |
| Died | December 30, 1999 (aged 119 years, 97 days)[1] Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse |
Abraham Lincoln Knauss
(m. 1901; died 1965) |
| Children | 1 |
Sarah DeRemer Knauss (née Clark; September 24, 1880 – December 30, 1999) was an American supercentenarian. She is the oldest person ever from the United States and third-oldest fully documented person ever, having lived to the age of 119 years and 97 days. Her birthdate has been verified through numerous census and other records.[2]
Biography
Sarah DeRemer Clark was born on September 24, 1880, to Walter and Amelia Clark[3] in Hollywood, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. She married Abraham Lincoln Knauss (1878–1965) in 1901;[4] Abraham was originally a tanner. He later became a prominent Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Republican leader and the recorder of deeds for this county, serving from 1937 until retiring in 1951. Their only child, Kathryn, was born in 1903 and died in 2005 at the age of 101.[1]
In 1995, Knauss remarked that she enjoyed her life because she still had her health and could "do things."[1] At age 116, Knauss was recognised as being the new United States national longevity record holder, then thought to have been Carrie C. White (reportedly 1874–1991).[1] In 1998, she became the world's oldest person after 117-year-old French Canadian Marie-Louise Meilleur died. Before her death, there were six living generations in her family.[5][6][7]
Knauss is the oldest documented person from the United States,[8] and is the third-oldest fully documented person ever, after French supercentenarian Jeanne Calment and Japanese supercentenarian Kane Tanaka. She was recognised as the world's oldest living person by Guinness World Records from April 16, 1998 until her death the next year at the age of 119 years and 97 days.[1][5][9][10][11][12]
Knauss died of natural causes on December 30, 1999, after nine years at a retirement home in Allentown, Pennsylvania.[1][6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Merrill, Gary F. (February 3, 2015). Our Aging Bodies. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-7526-1. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- ^ Demographics Retrieved April 2021
- ^ "South Bethlehem 1890 Census". bethlehempaonline. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ D., Ron (January 1, 2000). "Sarah's Century". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "World's Oldest Person Misses Millennium". CNN via WebCite. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
- ^ a b Devlin, Ron (December 31, 1999). "Sarah Knauss, Oldest Person, Dies at 119". The Morning Call. Retrieved February 18, 2013 – via Genealogy.com.
- ^ Frassinelli, Mike (September 25, 1999). "Mrs. Sarah Knauss, the World's Oldest Person, Turns 119". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 23, 2019 – via GRG.org.
- ^ Newton, Christopher (December 31, 1999). "Sarah Knauss, World's Oldest Person, Dies at 119". Athens Banner-Herald. Online Athens. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ "Nothing Fazes Oldest Woman". Associated Press. April 19, 1998. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^ "World's Oldest Person Dies. She is the Oldest Verified American in History". The Guardian. London, England. January 1, 2000. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^ "Sarah Knauss, World's Oldest Person Dies at 119". The Nevada Daily Mail. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. December 31, 1999. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ Harris, Timothy (2009). Living to 100 and Beyond. Winsted, CT: ACTEX Publications. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-56698-699-1. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
