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Centenarian

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A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. The term is associated with longevity due to the fact that average life expectancies across the world are still far from 100. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more.

Reaching an old age has fascinated people for ages. According to the Bible, Methuselah lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27). 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 (ibid 5:15) and Enoch (ibid 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 years and 10 months.

Some of the (nonapocryphal) claimants to longevity records are (see also: "Known for attaining high age" below):


In the United States, centenarians traditionally receive a letter from the president upon reaching their 100th birthday, congratulating them for their longevity. Willard Scott of NBC's Today show has also named them on air since 1983. In the United Kingdom, the Queen sends greetings (formerly as a telegram) on the 100th birthday and on every birthday starting with the 105th.

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

Actors/filmmakers/entertainers


Artists

Authors/poets/journalists


Businessmen


Educators/school administrators

Explorers


Jurists/practitioners of law

Military commanders


Musicians/Composers/music patrons

Nobility


Philosophers/theologians


Politicians/government servants

Relative of someone well-known

Religious leaders/Clergymen

Royalty

Scientists/mathematicians

Sportspeople

Miscellaneous

Known for attaining high age

See also


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