Supercentenarian
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A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is someone who has reached the age of 110 years, something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians (based on European data). Furthermore, only 2% of supercentenarians live to be 115. Currently living documented supercentenarians include 76 women and 2 men [1]
The term has been around at least since the 1970s (as one citation, Norris McWhirter, editor of the Guinness World Records, used the word in correspondence with age claims researcher A. Ross Eckler, Jr. in 1976), and was further popularized in 1991 by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book entitled Generations. Early references tend to mean simply "someone well over 100" but the 110-and-over cutoff is the accepted criterion of demographers. Claims of extreme age have been routinely made since antiquity; however, few of these claims withstand clerical scrutiny (e.g. is there a birth certificate? Does the date match the marriage certificate? Or the census data?). The oldest human with proof was Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122.
The term has sometimes been used in the popular media to refer to animals over 110 years old, especially anthropomorphized characters such as 111-year-old "Henry the Tuatara" and 140-year-old "George the Lobster".
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[edit] History
While claims of extreme age have persisted from the earliest times in history, the earliest supercentenarian accepted by Guinness World Records is Dutchman Thomas Peters, who was born on 6 April 1745, and died on 26 March 1857 at age 111 years 354 days (Guinness World Records once accepted one Pierre Joubert, but later dropped him, when it was discovered that he had been confused with his father). Scholars such as French demographer Jean-Marie Robine, however, consider Geert Adriaans Boomgaard, also of the Netherlands, to be the first verifiable case, as the alleged evidence for Peters has been 'lost'.
If Peters is discounted then the first documented 111th birthdays were celebrated in New York State in 1926, first by Louisa Thiers (born October 2, 1814, died February 17, 1926), and then Delina Filkins (born 4 May 1815, died 4 December 1928) of Herkimer County. The Guinness World Records accepted the claim of Martha Graham as the first ever 114-year-old. The Social Security Administration recognizes Mathew Beard as having attained the same age in 1984, but the earliest fully validated case is the one of Anna Eliza Williams in 1987.
Guinness World Records also recognized in 1978 the claim that Shigechiyo Izumi was born on 29 June 1865, and from the 1980 edition (printed when he would have been 115) considered him the oldest person. He died on 21 February 1986 (the 111th birthday of Jeanne Calment). However, subsequent research by some Japanese scholars has suggested that he may have been 105, as his birth certificate is believed to refer to that of his older brother who died young, and whose name might have been reused as a necronym.
Shigechiyo Izumi and Carrie C. White respectively have been recognized by Guinness World Records to have reached the ages of 115 and 116, because the claims of these two persons are insecure, scholars believe it possible that these extreme ages may also be milestones first achieved by Jeanne Calment. Her 122 years 164 days is the longest lifespan documented beyond reasonable doubt. The next oldest person whose age is documented beyond reasonable doubt was Sarah Knauss, who died in 1999 at the age of 119.
Over one thousand supercentenarians have been documented in history, and it is likely that more have really lived. However, the majority of claims to have lived to this age do not have sufficient documentary support to be validated. This is slowly changing as those born after birth registration was standardized in more countries and parts of countries attain supercentenarian age.
At the age of 100, the chance of a person reaching their next birthday is about 60%, and after age 105 this figure declines to a roughly constant chance of 50% survival for each succeeding year. 2% of verified supercentenarians have lived to celebrate their 115th birthday, 0.7% of verified supercentenarians have celebrated their 116th birthday, 0.4% of verified supercentenarians have celebrated their 117th birthday.
[edit] Verified supercentenarians over 115 years
This list includes cases verified by Guinness World Records but which were later disputed.
| Rank | Name | Sex | Birth | Death | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeanne Calment | F | 21 February 1875 | 4 August 1997 | 122 years, 164 days |  France |
| 2 | Shigechiyo Izumi (disputed) |
M | 29 June 1865? | 21 February 1986 | 120 years, 237 days?[2] |  Japan |
| 3 | Sarah Knauss | F | 24 September 1880 | 30 December 1999 | 119 years, 97 days |  United States |
| 4 | Lucy Hannah | F | 16 July 1875 | 21 March 1993 | 117 years, 248 days | United States |
| 5 | Marie-Louise Meilleur | F | 29 August 1880 | 16 April 1998 | 117 years, 230 days |  Canada |
| 6 | María Capovilla | F | 14 September 1889 | 27 August 2006 | 116 years, 347 days |  Ecuador |
| 7 | Tane Ikai | F | 18 January 1879 | 12 July 1995 | 116 years, 175 days | Japan |
| 8 | Elizabeth Bolden | F | 15 August 1890 | 11 December 2006 | 116 years, 118 days | United States |
| 9 | Carrie C. White (disputed) |
F | 18 November 1874? | 14 February 1991 | 116 years, 88 days?[3] | United States |
| 10 | Kamato Hongo (disputed) |
F | 16 September 1887? | 31 October 2003 | 116 years, 45 days?[4] | Japan |
| 11 | Maggie Barnes | F | 6 March 1882 | 19 January 1998 | 115 years, 319 days | United States |
| 12 | Christian Mortensen | M | 16 August 1882 | 25 April 1998 | 115 years, 252 days |  Denmark United States |
| 13 | Charlotte Hughes | F | 1 August 1877 | 17 March 1993 | 115 years, 228 days |  United Kingdom |
| 14 | Edna Parker | F | 20 April 1893 | 26 November 2008 | 115 years, 220 days | United States |
| 15 | Margaret Skeete | F | 27 October 1878 | 7 May 1994 | 115 years, 192 days | United States |
| 16 | Gertrude Baines | F | 6 April 1894 | 11 September 2009 | 115 years, 158 days | United States |
| 17 | Anitica Butariu (disputed) |
F | 17 June 1882? | 21 November 1997 | 115 years, 157 days?[5] |  Romania |
| 18 | Emiliano Mercado del Toro | M | 21 August 1891 | 24 January 2007 | 115 years, 156 days |  Puerto Rico |
| 19 | Bettie Wilson | F | 13 September 1890 | 13 February 2006 | 115 years, 153 days | United States |
| 20 | Julie Winnefred Bertrand | F | 16 September 1891 | 18 January 2007 | 115 years, 124 days | Canada |
| 21 | Maria de Jesus | F | 10 September 1893 | 2 January 2009 | 115 years, 114 days |  Portugal |
| 22 | Susie Gibson | F | 31 October 1890 | 16 February 2006 | 115 years, 108 days | United States |
| 23 | Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper | F | 29 June 1890 | 30 August 2005 | 115 years, 62 days |  Netherlands |
| 24 | Maude Farris-Luse | F | 21 January 1887 | 18 March 2002 | 115 years, 56 days | United States |
| 25 | Marie Brémont | F | 25 April 1886 | 6 June 2001 | 115 years, 42 days | France |
| 26 | Annie Jennings | F | 12 November 1884 | 20 November 1999 | 115 years, 8 days | United Kingdom |
[edit] References
- ^ "Validated Living Supercentenarians". November 30, 2009. http://www.grg.org/Adams/E.HTM.
- ^ Guinness World Records accepted in 1978 the claim that Shigechiyo Izumi was born 29 June 1865, and from the 1980 edition considered him the oldest person. However, subsequent research by some Japanese scholars has cast doubt on his claim, as his birth certificate is believed to refer to that of his older brother who died young and whose name might have been reused as a necronym. There remains continued speculation that he may have only lived to the age of 105.[1]
- ^ Guinness World Records accepted Carrie C. White's claim, but subsequent research reveals she may have been 102 at death.[2]
- ^ While there is some question as to whether Kamato Hongo was in fact 115 years old at death instead of 116, research by Michel Poulain suggests she may have been 110 at death.[3]
- ^ Anitica Butariu's claim was accepted by Romanian authorities, but supporting documentation for the claim has never been produced for inspection by international gerontology organizations. However, nothing has been published to dispute the claim. Anitica Butariu's stated birthdate is 17 June 1882, however Romania did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until March 1919 and therefore her age may be inflated by 13 days. The sources do not indicate whether her date of birth was as reckoned by the Julian calendar or had been adjusted to reflect the date as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar. 17 June 1882 on the Julian calendar was 30 June 1882 on the Gregorian calendar.
[edit] External links
- Gerontology Research Group
- International Database on Longevity
- Supercentenarian Research Foundation
- New England Supercentenarian Study
[edit] Further reading
- Louis Epstein: The Oldest Human Beings – list of validly-documented supercentenarians (by age and chronological), including a chronological list of the oldest living listed persons since 1955 (however, for a time in the 1960s the oldest living person did not reach 110).
