Besse Cooper
Besse Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Besse Berry Brown August 26, 1896 (age 128 years, 94 days) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | East Tennessee Normal School |
| Occupation | Retired teacher |
| Known for | Oldest living person in the U.S. since January 31, 2011 and oldest living person in the world since June 21, 2011 |
| Spouse | Luther Cooper (1924-1963) |
| Children | 4 |
Besse Berry Cooper (née Brown; born August 26, 1896) is an American supercentenarian. After the death of Maria Gomes Valentim on June 21, 2011, she became the world's oldest living person, and, since June 16, 2011, has been listed as one of the 30 verified oldest people ever.
Biography
Cooper was born Besse Brown, in Sullivan County, Tennessee, the third of eight children.[1] She graduated from East Tennessee Normal School, in 1916, and was a teacher in her native Tennessee before moving to Georgia, near the US entrance in World War I.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). There, she taught at the Between School, in Between, Georgia.[2] Cooper married Luther Cooper in 1924, and was widowed in 1963.[3]
Cooper became Georgia's oldest resident on January 19, 2009, following the death of 113-year-old Beatrice Farve.[3] She is also the 2nd oldest verified person ever from Tennessee, behind Elizabeth Bolden, who died in December 2006, aged 116 years 118 days.
As of her 114th birthday, Cooper had 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.[4]
Major Milestones
- November 8, 2006 - Besse Cooper, aged 110 years 74 days, entered The Gerontology Research Group's list for Guinness World Records
- January 19, 2009 - Beatrice Farve died, Besse Cooper, aged 112 years 146 days, became the oldest person in the U.S. state of Georgia
- January 31, 2011 - Eunice Sanborn died, Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 158 days, became the oldest living person in the United States. She had previously been thought to be the world's oldest living person, until Maria Gomes Valentim of Brazil was verified as being older on May 18, 2011.
- April 14, 2011 - Walter Breuning died, Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 231 days, became the last surviving American born in 1896.
- May 18, 2011 - Guinness World Records reported that Maria Gomes Valentim of Brazil had been verified as oldest living person in the world since November 4, 2010.[5]
- June 16, 2011 - Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 294 days, became one of the 30 verified oldest people ever
- June 21, 2011 - Maria Gomes Valentim died, Besse Cooper aged 114 years 299 days became the third person to regain the status of the verified oldest living person, the second person being Elizabeth Bolden and the first being Jeanne Calment.
- August 2, 2011 - Venere Pizzinato died, Besse Cooper aged 114 years 341 days became one of the last 2 verified living people born in 1896.
- August 9, 2011 - Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 348 days, became the longest-lived person born in the year 1896.
- August 19, 2011 - Besse Cooper, aged 114 years, 358 days, surpassed Kama Chinen to become the longest-lived person to live in the 2010s decade.
See also
- List of supercentenarians from the United States
- List of the verified oldest people
- List of the verified oldest women
- List of living supercentenarians
- List of oldest people by year of birth
- List of oldest living people by nation
- Oldest people
- Supercentenarian
References
- ^ Associated Press (2010-03-09). "Oldest American dies". Chicago Tribune. p. 3.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Birthday kiss for a centenarian". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2009-08-27. p. B1.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Milligan, Stephen (2007-08-26). "At 111, she's second oldest in Georgia". Walton Tribune. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ France, Erin (2010-08-27). "World's third-oldest celebrates". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ Yapp, Robin (2011-05-18). "Brazilian woman aged 114 is world's oldest person". The Daily Telegraph.