Jump to content

Longevity myths: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Proposing merge
John J. Bulten (talk | contribs)
12,763 edits
{{merge|Longevity}} is a very very bad proposal on several counts, to be listed at talk. The solution lies elsewhere.
Line 2: Line 2:
{{POV|date=August 2009}}
{{POV|date=August 2009}}
{{listcruft}}
{{listcruft}}
{{merge|Longevity}}


'''Longevity stories''', '''longevity myths''' or '''longevity traditions''' are [[myth]]s (in the technical sense){{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}<!--Inserted by Louis Epstein (12.144.5.2) in 2003 or slightly later--> and traditions about long-lived people (generally [[supercentenarian]]s), and about practices that are supposed to induce longevity.<ref name=kohn>{{Cite book|title=Daoism and Chinese Culture|last=Kohn|first=Livia|date=2001|publisher=Three Pines Press|pages=4, 84|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2AURAQAAIAAJ&q=%22longevity+tradition%22&dq=%22longevity+tradition%22&hl=en&ei=dIKdTPuSMYSglAfy0uXqAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwATgy}}</ref>
'''Longevity stories''', '''longevity myths''' or '''longevity traditions''' are [[myth]]s (in the technical sense){{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}<!--Inserted by Louis Epstein (12.144.5.2) in 2003 or slightly later--> and traditions about long-lived people (generally [[supercentenarian]]s), and about practices that are supposed to induce longevity.<ref name=kohn>{{Cite book|title=Daoism and Chinese Culture|last=Kohn|first=Livia|date=2001|publisher=Three Pines Press|pages=4, 84|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2AURAQAAIAAJ&q=%22longevity+tradition%22&dq=%22longevity+tradition%22&hl=en&ei=dIKdTPuSMYSglAfy0uXqAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwATgy}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:27, 8 October 2010

For fully validated specific supercentenarian claims, see List of supercentenarians.
For specific supercentenarian claims not validated to Guinness World Records standards, see Longevity claims.

Longevity stories, longevity myths or longevity traditions are myths (in the technical sense)[citation needed] and traditions about long-lived people (generally supercentenarians), and about practices that are supposed to induce longevity.[1]

The phrase "longevity tradition" may include "purifications, rituals, longevity practices, meditations, and alchemy"[1] that have been believed to confer greater human longevity, especially in Oriental culture.[2][3]

Historical traditions

Testimonies

Sumer

Age claims for the earliest eight Sumerian kings in the major recension were in units and fractions of shar (3,600 years) and totaled 67 shar or 241,200 years.[4]

Some city-states of Mesopotamia had different number systems from neighboring city-states; within each city-state were multiple number systems, used for counting or measuring different objects.[1] During the third millennium BC, these archaic numbers were gradually replaced by wedge-shaped cuneiform numbers in a positional sexagesimal system using alternating bases 10 and 6.[2] Template:Biblical longevity

The Sacrifice of Noah, Jacopo Bassano (c. 1515–1592), Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten, Potsdam-Sanssouci, c. 1574. Noah was traditionally aged 601 at the time.

Hebrew Bible

The Biblical upper limit of longevity has been categorized by Bible scholar Witness Lee as having four successive plateaus of 1,000, 500, 250, and finally 120 years.[3] The Torah and Book of Job claim several individuals with long lifespans.

Biblical apologists that assert literal translation give explanations for the advanced ages of the early patriarchs. In one view man was originally to have everlasting life, but as sin was introduced into the world by Adam and Eve, its influence became greater with each generation and God progressively shortened man's life; "four falls of mankind" (according to Witness Lee) correspond to four observable plateaus in longevity upper limits.[4] Second, before Noah's flood, a "firmament" over the earth (Genesis 1:6–8) could have greatly contributed to man's advanced age.[5] Third, biological DNA damage may cause genetically accelerated aging.

Some literary critics explain these extreme ages as ancient mistranslations that converted the word "month" to "year", mistaking lunar cycles for solar ones: this would turn an age of 969 "years" into a more reasonable 969 lunar months, or 78½ years of the Metonic cycle.[6] Donald Etz says that the Genesis 5 numbers were multiplied by ten by a later editor.[7] These interpretations introduce an inconsistency as the ages of the first nine patriarchs at fatherhood, ranging from 62 to 230 years in the manuscripts, would then be transformed into an implausible range such as 5 to 18½ years.[8] Others say that the first list, of only 10 names for 1,656 years, may contain generational gaps, which would have been represented by the lengthy lifetimes attributed to the patriarchs.[9] Nineteenth-century critic Vincent Goehlert suggests the lifetimes "represented epochs merely, to which were given the names of the personages especially prominent in such epochs, who, in consequence of their comparatively long lives were able to acquire an exalted influence."[10]

Persian empire

The reigns of several shahs in the Shahnameh, an epic poem by Ferdowsi, are given as longer than a century:

China

Lucian wrote about the "Seres" (a Chinese people), claiming they lived for over 300 years.

  • In Chinese legend, Peng Zu was believed to have lived for over 800 years[11] during the the Yin Dynasty (殷朝, 16th to 11th centuries BC).
Emperor Jimmu.

Japan

Some early emperors of Japan ruled for more than a century, according to the tradition documented in the Kojiki, viz., Emperor Jimmu and Emperor Kōan.

  • Emperor Jimmu (traditionally, 13 February 711 BC – 11 March 585 BC) lived 126 years according to the Kojiki. These dates correspond to 126 years, 27 days, on the proleptic Julian and Gregorian calendars. However, the form of his posthumous name suggests that it was invented in the reign of Kammu (782–806),[12] or possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled into the Kojiki.

Korea

  • Taejo of Goguryeo (~47 – 165) is generally accepted as having reigned in Korea for 93 years beginning at age 7. After his retirement, the Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa give his age at death as 118.[13]

Roman empire

In Roman times, Pliny wrote about longevity records from the census carried out in 74 AD under Vespasian. In one region of Italy many people allegedly lived past 100; four were said to be 130, others even older. The ancient Greek author Lucian is the presumed author of Macrobii (long-livers), a work devoted to longevity. Most of the examples Lucian gives are what would be regarded as normal long lifespans (80–100 years).

  • Tiresias, the blind seer of Thebes, was alive for over 600 years (Lucian).
  • Nestor lived over 300 years (Lucian).
  • According to one tradition, Epimenides of Crete (7th, 6th centuries BC) lived nearly three hundred years.[14]

Poland

Christianity

Islam

  • Abdul Azziz al-Hafeed al-Habashi (عبد العزيزالحبشي) lived 581–1276 of the Hijra (11 June 1185 – 19 September 1859, 674 years, 100 days[citation needed]), i.e., 673+ Gregorian years or 694+ Islamic years, according to 19th-century scholars.[22]
  • Amm Atwa el Ais (العم عطوة العيص), nicknamed Abu Hamdi Abu Ahmed, claimed to recall the French entering Egypt in 1798, and died in 1998 according to a Japanese website (age over 200).[23]

Hinduism

Falun Gong

  • Chapter 2 of Falun Gong by Li Hongzhi (2001) states, "A person in Japan named Mitsu Taira lived to be 242 years old. During the Tang Dynasty in our country, there was a monk called Hui Zhao [慧昭, 526–815[28]] who lived to be 290 [288+] years old. According to the county annals of Yong Tai in Fujian Province, Chen Jun [陈俊] was born in the first year of Zhong He time (881 AD) under the reign of Emperor Xi Zong during the Tang Dynasty. He died in the Tai Ding time of the Yuan Dynasty (1324 AD), after living for 443 years."[29]

Diets

The Okinawa diet has some reputation of linkage to exceptionally high ages.[30] The tradition of Okinawan lifestyle being suitable to longevity has been lost lately, as demonstrated by comparison of 1995 and 2000 statistics; in a journal article, this tradition of lifestyle was called both "myth" (a colloquialism) and "fact".[31]

Alchemy

Traditions that have been believed to confer greater human longevity include alchemy.[32] Nicolas Flamel (early 1330s – 1418?) was a 14th-century scrivener who developed a reputation as alchemist and creator of an "elixir of life" that conferred drink immortality upon himself and his wife Perenelle. His arcanely inscribed tombstone is preserved at the Musée de Cluny in Paris.

  • Fridericus (Ludovicus) Gualdus, author of "Revelation of the True Chemical Wisdom", lived in Venice in the 1680s. His age was reported in a letter in a contemporary Dutch newspaper to be over 400. By some accounts, when asked about a portrait he carried, he said it was of himself, painted by Titian (who died in 1576), but gave no explanation and left Venice the following morning.[33][34] By another account, Gualdus left Venice due to religious accusations and died in 1724.[35] The "Compass der Weisen" alludes to him as still alive in 1782 and nearly 600 years old.[33]

Fountain of Youth

Main article: Fountain of Youth

The Fountain of Youth reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. The New Testament, following older Jewish tradition, attributes healing to the Pool of Bethesda when the waters are "stirred" by an angel.[36] Herodotus attributes exceptional longevity to a fountain in the land of the Ethiopians.[37] The lore of the Alexander Romance and of Al-Khidr describes such a fountain, and stories about the philosopher's stone, universal panaceas, and the elixir of life are widespread.

After the death of Juan Ponce de León, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo wrote in Historia General y Natural de las Indias (1535) that Ponce de León was looking for the waters of Bimini to cure his aging.[38]

Recent traditions

Overadvancements

Guinness estimates that very old people tend to advance their ages by about 17 years per decade, as corroborated by the 1901 and 1911 British censuses.[39] The 1970 U.S. census listed 106,000 people claiming to be 100 years old or older, some over 130. In 2000, the Social Security death master file contained 23 records with birth year 1800 and death year 1975 or later; a monograph by K. Faig suggests that coding of "1800" might represent unknown year of birth, or an error for 1900.[40]

Double lives

Old Tom Parr.

Several supercentenarian claims are believed to constitute double lives, conflating father and son, relations with the same names, or successive bearers of a title.[39]

  • A National Geographic article in 1973 treated with respect some longevity traditions like those of the high mountain valley of Vilcabamba, Ecuador.[45] In February and March 1978, Mazess and Forman published their discovery that inhabitants used their fathers' and grandfathers' baptismal entries.[39]
  • Thomas Parr (February 1483? – 15 November 1635) was allegedly 152.[46] According to P. Lüth, the results of Parr's autopsy by William Harvey (who believed the claim) suggest that Parr was probably under 70 years of age.[47] It is possible that Parr's records were confused with those of his grandfather.[48] The editor of Notes and Queries remarked that "his epitaph probably contains nearly as many untruths as there are statements in it."[46]
  • Christian Jakobsen Drackenberg's birth in Stavanger, Norway, 18 November 1626, and a death under the same name in Aarhus, Denmark, 9 October 1772 (145 years, 326 days), are believed to have been a double life.[39]
  • Pierre Joubert lived in Canada 113 years, 124 days (15 July 1701 – 16 November 1814), according to editions of Guinness.[49] In reality, he died at 65 and his son and namesake died in 1814.[50]

Political claims

File:Li chingYuen.jpg
Li Ching-Yuen, photographed in 1927 at the residence of General Yang Sen.
China
  • A New York Times story announced the death on 5 May 1933 in Kaihsien, Szechwan, of the Republic of China's Li Ching-Yuen (李青云, Li Qing Yun), who claimed to be born in 1736, age 197.[51] A Time article noted that "respectful Chinese preferred to think" Li was 150 in 1827 (birth 1677), based on a government congratulatory message, and died at age 256.[52] Tai chi chuan master Da Liu stated that Li learned qigong from a hermit aged over 500.[53]
France
Great Britain
  • The Shoreditch burial register for 28 January 1588 reads "Aged 207 years. Holywell Street. Thomas Cam"[55] or "Carn", which supplied a traditional birth year of 1381.[18] According to Old and New London, "the 2 should probably be 1".[55] Chapter 2 of Falun Gong by Li Hongzhi (2001) states, "According to records, there was a person in Britain named Femcath who lived for 207 years."[29]
  • Peter Torton reportedly died in 1724 aged 185.[15]
  • A brief biography of Henry Jenkins, of Ellerton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, was written by Anne Saville in 1663 based on Jenkins's description, stating birth in 1501; he also claimed to recall the 1513 Battle of Flodden Field.[56] However, Jenkins also testified in 1667, in favor of Charles Anthony in a court case against Calvert Smythson, that he was then only 157 or thereabouts.[57] He was born in Bolton-on-Swale,[18] but the only date given, 17 May 1500,[58] does not agree with the age of 169 on his monument (he died 8 December 1670).[59]
  • A tombstone in Cachen churchyard near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, read, "Heare lieth the body of WILLIAM EDWARDS, of the Cairey, who departed this life the 24th of February, Anno Domini 1668, anno aetatis suae one hundred and sixty-eight" (aged 167+).[18]
  • Joseph Surrington was reported as 160 (1637–1797).[18]
  • The parish registers of Church Minshull, in the county of Chester, state, "1649 Thomas Damme of Leighton. Buried the 20th of February, being of the age of Seven-score and fourteen" (154 years), signed by vicar T. Holford and wardens T. Kennerly and John Warburton.[18]
  • A tombstone in Brislington, Bristol, reads, "1542 THOMAS NEWMAN AGED 153 This Stone was new faced in the Year 1771 to Perpetuate the Great Age of the Deceased."[60]
  • Mrs. Eckleston of Philipstown, King's-county, was stated to be 143 (1548–1691).[61]
  • Margaret Patten reportedly died in 1739 aged 137.[15]
  • Old Henry Francisco (31 May 1686? – 25 October 1820) was reportedly 134 years, 147 days.[62]
  • Mary Yates of Lizard Common, Shifnal, reportedly died in 1776 aged 127.[63]
  • William Wakley was baptized at Idsal in 1590 and was buried at Adbaston 28 November 1714 aged 124 according to the register of St. Andrew's church, Shifnal, Salop.[63]
  • Old Tom Parr's great-grandson Robert Parr reportedly died in 1757 at age 124.[46]
  • Geoffrey N. Wright in Discovering Epitaphs says of grave inscriptions, "Isaac Ingall, butler of Battle Abbey, East Sussex, reached a mere 120 years. Stoke-on-Trent churchyard has the graves of Henry and Sibil Clarke, who both died in 1684 aged 112. The epitaph of Matthew Peat at Wirksworth, Derbyshire, who died in 1751 aged 112, poses the question: 'Few live so long: who lives well?' ... William Billinge, of Longnor, Staffordshire, was born in a cornfield, served at Gibraltar and Ramillies and died in 1791 aged 112."[60]
  • Margaret Melvil, who reportedly died 1783 aged 117, Jane Lewson, who reportedly died 1811 aged 116, and Mary How, who reportedly died 15 July 1751 aged 112, were each known for growing new teeth in old age.[64]
Hungary
  • Netherlands envoy Hamelbraning reported in 1724 of the death in Rofrosh, Hungary, on January 5 of Peter Czartan, reportedly born 1539 and aged 184.[18] Charles Hulbert, who reported Czartan's case in an 1825 collection, added that John Rovin (172) and his wife (164) both died in Hungary in 1741 after 148 years of marriage, with a youngest son aged 116.[18]
Indonesia
Pakistan

The 1973 National Geographic article on longevity also reported, as a very aged people, the Burusho or Hunza people in the Hunza Valley of the mountains of Pakistan.[45]

Russia (Soviet Union)

Deaths officially reported in Russia in 1815 listed 1068 centenarians, including 246 supercentenarians (50 aged 120–155 and one even older).[18] Time magazine considered that, by the Soviet Union, longevity had elevated to a state-supported "Methuselah cult".[66] The USSR insisted on its citizens' unrivaled longevity by claiming 592 people (224 male, 368 female) aged over 120 in a 15 January 1959 census[67] and 100 citizens of Russia alone aged 120 to 156 in March 1960.[39] Such later claims were fostered by Georgian-born Joseph Stalin's apparent hope that he would live long past 70.[66] Zhores A. Medvedev, who demonstrated that all 500-plus claims failed birth-record validation and other tests,[66] said Stalin "liked the idea that [other] Georgians lived to be 100".[39]

  • An early 1812 Russian Petersburgh Gazette reports a man aged between 200 and 225 in the diocese of Ekaterinoslaw.[18]
  • Shirali Muslimov (26 March 1805? – 4 September 1973), of Barzavu, Azerbaijan, in the Caucasus mountains, was allegedly aged 168 years, 162 days, based solely on a passport. National Geographic carried the claim.[45]
  • Sarhat Rashidova (1875? – 16 January 2007) died in Russia at the alleged age of 131.[68]
South Africa
  • Moloko Temo (4 July 1874? – 2 or 3 June 2009) died in South Africa at the alleged age of 134 years, 333+ days.[69][70][71]
Sweden

Swedish death registers contain detailed information on thousands of centenarians going back to 1749; the maximum age at death reported between 1751 and 1800 was 127.[72]

  • Jon Andersson died 18 April 1729 and his death register states he was born 18 February 1582 (147 years, 59 days).
  • Dorothea Andersdotter died in 1860 at the registered age of 110, but the omission of age in months and days was atypical.
Switzerland

Swiss anatomist Albrecht von Haller collected examples of 62 people aged 110–120, 29 aged 120–130, and 15 aged 130–140.[73]

Turkey
  • Zaro Aga (1774? – 29 June 1934) died in Istanbul, Turkey, at the alleged age of 160 years.[74] His age was also reported as 164.[75]
  • Halime Olcay has a birth certificate dated 1 July 1874 and was reportedly 135 years, 147 days, on 25 November 2009.[76]

Commercial sponsors

Barnum
  • P. T. Barnum exhibited Joice Heth as 161 until her death 19 February 1836; her autopsy indicated she was "probably not over eighty".[77]
Ripley

Robert L. Ripley regularly reported supercentenarian claims in Ripley's Believe It or Not!, usually citing his own reputation as a fact-checker to claim reliability. Ripley reported that:

  • Javier Pereira, an aboriginal resident of Colombia, claimed to have been born in 1789. In 1956, in his only departure from Colombia, Pereira was examined by New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center physicians, who described him as "possibly ... more than 150 years old". He died 30 March 1958, in Montería, Colombia (age 168+),[78] and was honored by a local postage stamp with the motto, "Don't worry. Drink coffee and smoke a good cigar."[79]
  • Yaupa (~1769–1899) of Futuna Island, Vanuatu, continued to work his farm at the age of 130.[80]
  • Horoz Ali, gatekeeper in Nicosia, Cyprus, before Turkish defeat in 1878, lived to 120.[81]
  • Francisco Huppazoli (1587–1702) of Italy lived 114 years and fathered four children after age 98.[82]

Other testimonies

The following additional cases were cited by Arthur Custance in 1976 (most collected by James Prichard in 1836):[75]

Name Death Alleged age
unknown (Frederic Town, U.S.) 1797 180
Elizabeth Yorath 1668 177
Baba Harainsingh fl. 1952 176
Robert Lynch 1830 160
Iwan Yorath 1621 156
Catherine Hiatt 1821 150
Joseph Bam 1821 146
Rebecca Tury 1827 140
Juan Moroygota fl. 1828 138
Catherine Lopez 1807 134
Margaret Darby 1821 130
Statira 1823 130
Francis Peat 1830 130
Charles Layne 1821 121
May Innes 1830 120
Annie Firlotte fl. 1954 113

Controverted traditions

Nathaniel Grogan's 1806 engraving of Lord Kerry's portrait of Katherine FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond.

See also overadvanced ages and double lives above.

  • St. Patrick died in 491 aged 122, according to James Prichard;[15] the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia assigns him to 387 – 17 March 493 (105+ years).[83]
  • Katherine FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond, was age 140 according to contemporaries Fynes Moryson, Francis Bacon, and James Ussher. Records of Cork County historian Dr. Smith agree on the age. Walter Raleigh added that she was married in the reign of Edward IV (1461–1483). A pedigree at Lambeth compiled by George Carew places her death in 1604. This was probably after a new patent on her land 10 May 1604, which she apparently appealed. Records discovered later, showing that her husband was previously married through 1528 and then gifted land to her father in 1529, suggest that she was not married until 1529 and that her age was overrated by nearly forty years (estimated at 104).[84]
  • Micajah Weiss (born 3 June 1800?) was listed in his 26 September 1914 The New York Times obituary as a 114-year-old claimant to longevity, where it was stated he was New York's oldest person.[85] Census data suggests he was born in 1810 or 1811 (age 102+).[86][need quotation to verify]
  • Apollonius of Tyana died in 99 AD aged 130 by one account,[15] but his primary biographer, Philostratus the Elder, assigns him to 3 BC – 97 AD (98+ years).[87]
  • George Fruits (2 January 1762? – 6 August 1876)[88] was shown, by research released by A. Ross Eckler, Jr. in 1978, to be 17 years younger (i.e., age 97+) than the age shown on his gravestone.[89]
  • Mary Ramsey Wood of Hillsboro, Oregon (20 May 1787? – 1 January 1908), was allegedly 120. The only Mary Wood of Hillsboro in the 1880 and 1900 censuses was born in 1809 or 1811 (age 96+).[90]
  • Annibal Camoux of France, allegedly born 1638, died in 1759 in Marseilles, allegedly aged 121. In 1957 the French historian Louis Thibaux discovered that Camoux had in reality been born in Nice in 1669, and was thus actually only 90 years old when he died.[91]
  • Joseph Brunner of Bavaria, Germany, allegedly born 29 November 1706, is now said to have been born in 1739, according to his baptism record, and died on 22 November 1827 aged 88.[92][need quotation to verify]
  • Galen reportedly died in 271 aged 140.[93] Vivian Nutton gives his birth as September 129 and his age at death as 87 (216+ AD),[94][95] following the text of John the Grammarian and Ishaq.[96]
  • Saint Mungo or Kentigern, patron saint of Glasgow in Britain in the Middle Ages, was stated by biographer Joceline to have died at 185. Alexander Forbes recommends deducting 100, giving relatively consistent dates of ~518? – 13 January 603.[97]
  • Noah Raby (1 April 1772? – 1 March 1904) was featured in The New York Times; he claimed to have heard George Washington speak at Norfolk.[98] However, he is listed as born 1822 in the 1850 Census (age 81+ at death).[99]
  • Attila reportedly died c. 500 aged 124;[15] more accurate dates are c. 406–453 (46+ years).[100]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nissen, Hans J.; et al. (1993). Archaic Bookkeeping. University of Chicago Press. pp. 25, 27–9. ISBN 0226586596. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help) "Some 60 different signs identified as numerical signs have been isolated in the archaic texts [that] could be assigned to a restricted number of different numerical systems (see fig. 28). Each of these systems possesses a well-defined range of applicability .... Identical signs can occur in different systems and consequently inherit different numerical connotations." Figure 28 lists thirteen such systems for the city-state of Uruk.
  2. ^ Ifrah, Georges (1985). From One To Zero: A Universal History of Numbers. Viking Press. pp. 174–5.
  3. ^ Lee, Witness (1987). Life-Study of Genesis. Vol. II. pp. 227, 287, 361, 481.
  4. ^ Pilch, John J. (1999). The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible. Liturgical Press. pp. 144–146.
  5. ^ Vail, Isaac Newton (1902). The Waters Above the Firmament: Or The Earth's Annular System. Ferris and Leach. p. 97.
  6. ^ Hill, Carol A. (2003-12-04). "Making Sense of the Numbers of Genesis". Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 55: 239.
  7. ^ Etz, Donald V. (1994). "The Numbers of Genesis V 3–31: A Suggested Conversion and Its Implications". Vetus Testamentum. 43 (2): 171–87.
  8. ^ Morris, Henry M. (1976). The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. p. 159. Such an interpretation would have made Enoch only five years old when his son was born!
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference z was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Goehlert, Vincent (November 1887). "Statistical Observations upon Biblical Data". The Old Testament Student (in English). 7 (3). Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 76–83. doi:10.1086/469948.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  11. ^ Li, Mengyu (2008). "The Unique Values of Chinese Traditional Cultural Time Orientation: In Comparison with Western Cultural Time Orientation" (PDF). The University of Rhode Island. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  12. ^ Aston, William (1896). Nihongi. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner. pp. 109–137.
  13. ^ Yang, S. C. The South and North Korean political systems: A comparative analysis (rev. ed.). Seoul: Hollym. ISBN 1565911059.
  14. ^ "Epimenides". [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]. Vol. 8. Henry G. Allen. 1890. p. 482. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Prichard, James C. (1836). Researches into the Physical History of Mankind. Vol. 1. London: Houlston and Stoneman. pp. 11–5 ff.
  16. ^ Lichtenberger, Frédéric, ed. (1881). Encyclopédie des sciences religieuses. Vol. 11. Sandoz et Fischbacher. p. 570. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Thompson, Phyllis (2005). Sadhu Sundar Singh: A Biography of the Remarkable Indian Disciple of Jesus. Armour Publishing. pp. 77, 80–3.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hulbert, Charles (1825). "Instances of Human Longevity in Europe". Museum Europæum; or, Select antiquities ... of nature and art, in Europe. pp. 451–7.
  19. ^ "Scolastica Oliveri".
  20. ^ Calvert, Kenneth (October 1999). "Ascetic Agitators". p. 28. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  21. ^ Coptic Orthodox Church Network (2005). "Commemorations for Abib 7". St. Mark Coptic Church.
  22. ^ al-Kittani, Abdul Hayye (1888–1962). Fahres-ul-Faharis wal Athbat. Vol. 2. p. 928.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) In "Chains of Narration" (PDF). Minhaj-al-Quran International (UK). 2006.
  23. ^ "أعجوبة الزمان، شيخ المعمرين: أبو أحمد بن موسى العيص".
  24. ^ Daczynski, Vincent J. (2004). "Paranormal Phenomenon: Amazing Human Abilities". {{cite web}}: |chapter= ignored (help)
  25. ^ a b c McDermott, Rachel Fell (2001). Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams. Oxford University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780195134353.
  26. ^ Varishthananda, Swami (November 2007). "Varanasi: The City of Saints, Sages, and Savants" (PDF). Prabuddha Bharata (Awakened India). 112 (11): 632–3.
  27. ^ Medhasananda, Swami (2003). Varanasi At the Crossroads. Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. p. 1042. ISBN 8187332182.
  28. ^ "慧昭 (526–815)".
  29. ^ a b Li Hongzhi (April 2001). "Falun Gong". Falun Gong (4th trans. ed.).
  30. ^ Willcox, Willcox, and Suzuki. The Okinawa program: Learn the secrets to healthy longevity. p. 3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Oya Yusuke, University Ryukyus; Fukiyama Koshiro, Japan Seaman Relief Association (2004). "Longevity myth in Okinawa–the Past and Present". Clinic All-round. Vol. 53, no. 8. pp. 2245–8. ISSN 0371-1900.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference kohn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ a b Ferguson, John (1906). Bibliotheca chemica. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons. p. 351. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  34. ^ Gualdus, Friederich (1989) [1720]. Revelation of the True Chemical Wisdom (Alchemy). Muller, Leone, trans. Restoration of Alchemical Manuscripts Society. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  35. ^ Hally, René. "Tschoudy, Théodore Henry de Metz". Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  36. ^ John 5:4.
  37. ^ Herodotus, Book III: 22–4.
  38. ^ Fernández de Oviedo, Gonzalo. Historia General y Natural de las Indias, book 16, chapter XI.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g Guinness Book of World Records. 1983. pp. 16–19.
  40. ^ Faig, K. (2002). Reported Deaths of Centenarians and Near-Centenarians in the U.S. Social Security Administration's Death Master File. p. 11.
  41. ^ Associated Press (20 December 1959). "Reputed Last Civil War Veteran Dies in Texas After Long Illness: Walter Williams Put His Age at 117 – Tributes Note the End of an Era". The New York Times.
  42. ^ a b Bridwell, Lowell K. (3 September 1959). "Texan's Civil War Role in Doubt As Records Indicate Age Is 104". The New York Times. United Press International.
  43. ^ "Gerontology: Secret of Long Life". Time Magazine. 1967-04-14. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  44. ^ Arcadia, DeSoto County, Florida, County Records. Vol. Book 2. p. 392.
  45. ^ a b c Leaf, Alexander (January 1973). "Search for the Oldest People". National Geographic. pp. 93–118.
  46. ^ a b c Kirby. Wonderful Museum. In "Old Parr". Notes and Queries. Oxford Journals. 21 May 1881. pp. 415–6.
  47. ^ Lüth, P. (1965). Geschichte der Geriatrie. pp. 153–4.
  48. ^ "Thomas Parr". NNDB.com. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  49. ^ Guinness Book of World Records. 1983. p. 18.
  50. ^ Validation of Exceptional Longevity. Odense Monographs on Population Aging. Vol. 6. Jeune, Bernard, and Vaupel, James W., eds. Odense University Press. 1999.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) In Gavrilov, Leonid A.; Gavrilova, Natalia S.; Center on Aging, NORC/University of Chicago (June 2000). "Book Reviews" (PDF). Population Dev Rev. 26 (2): 403–4. Retrieved 2009-05-18.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  51. ^ "Li Ching-Yun Dead; Gave His Age As 197". The New York Times. 6 May 1933.
  52. ^ "Tortoise-Pigeon-Dog". Time Magazine. 1933-05-15. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  53. ^ "The amazing story of master Li Ching-Yuen".
  54. ^ Palma-Cayet, Pierre-Victor (1609). Chronologie septenaire de l'histoire de la paix entre les Roys de France et d'Espagne.
  55. ^ a b Thornbury, Walter (1878). "Shoreditch". Old and New London. Vol. 2. Centre for Metropolitan History. pp. 194–195.
  56. ^ "Age Validation of Centenarians in the Luxdorph Gallery". Validation of Exceptional Longevity. Odense Monographs on Population Aging. Vol. 6. Jeune, Bernard, and Vaupel, James W., eds., Petersen, L.-L. B., and Jeune, Bernard, contribs. Odense University Press. 1999.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  57. ^ Thoms, William J. (1979) [1873]. Human Longevity: Its Facts and Its Fictions (reprint ed.). London; New York City: John Murray; Arno Press. p. 287.
  58. ^ Marden, Orison Swett (2003) [1921]. The Secret of Achivement. Kessinger Publishing. p. 228.
  59. ^ Krünitz, Johann Georg (1806). Oekonomisch-technologische Encyklopädie oder allgemeines System der Stats-, Stadt-, Haus- und Landwirthschaft und der Kunst-Geschichte. Vol. 66. Pauli. p. 764.
  60. ^ a b Wright, Geoffrey N. (1996). "Discovering Epitaphs". Osprey Publishing. pp. 25–6.
  61. ^ Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick (February–May 1862). "The Old Countess of Desmond". The Dublin Review. 51. London: Thomas Richardson and Son: 78.
  62. ^ "Whitehall History: Henry Francisco".
  63. ^ a b Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1905). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Cassell and Co. p. 772.
  64. ^ Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick (February–May 1862). "The Old Countess of Desmond". The Dublin Review. 51. London: Thomas Richardson and Son: 82.
  65. ^ "Usia 1,5 Abad, Turinah Masih Sehat". Sriwijaya Post. 2010-06-01.
  66. ^ a b c "No Methuselahs". Time Magazine. 1974-08-12. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  67. ^ Vestnik Statistiki. Statistical Herald. April 1961.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  68. ^ "Oldest woman on planet passes away in Russia".
  69. ^ Mapoyna, Frank (2009-06-05). "Oldest person dies at 134". Sowetan. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  70. ^ Sapa (2009-06-04). "SA's oldest woman dies". iAfrica. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  71. ^ "Sowetan: Bid to have 'oldest granny' recognised".
  72. ^ Lundström, Hans; Castanova, V. (March 2000). Record Longevity in Swedish Cohorts Born Since 1700. {{cite book}}: Text "http://www.demogr.mpg.de/Papers/Books/Monograph2/record.htm" ignored (help)
  73. ^ Dunglison, Robley (1851). Medical Lexicon: A Dictionary of Medical Science. Blanchard & Lea. p. 525.
  74. ^ "Zaro Agha Dead at 160 Years". The [Melbourne] Argus. 1934-06-30. p. 21.
  75. ^ a b News Review. 1938-12-22. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) In Custance, Arthur C., Ph.D. (1976). The Virgin Birth and the Incarnation.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  76. ^ "135 Year Old Woman Wins Pension". Ebru News. 25 November 2009.
  77. ^ "Joice Heth". University of Virginia American Studies.
  78. ^ "Ask the Globe". Boston Globe. 1987-08-16. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  79. ^ "U.S." Time Magazine. 1958-04-14. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  80. ^ Ripley Enterprises, Inc. (September 1969). Ripley's Believe It or Not! 15th Series. New York City: Pocket Books. p. 112. The Old Man of the Sea / Yaupa / a native of Futuna, one of the New Hebrides Islands / regularly worked his own farm at the age of 130 / He died in 1899 of measles — a children's disease
  81. ^ Ripley Enterprises, Inc. (September 1969). Ripley's Believe It or Not! 15th Series. New York City: Pocket Books. p. 84. Horoz Ali the last Turkish gatekeeper of Nicosia, Cyprus, lived to the age of 120
  82. ^ Ripley Enterprises, Inc. (September 1969). Ripley's Believe It or Not! 15th Series. New York City: Pocket Books. p. 56. Francisco Huppazoli (1587–1702) of Casale, Italy, lived 114 years without a day's illness and had 4 children by his 5th wife — whom he married at the age of 98
  83. ^ Moran, Patrick Francis (1913). "St. Patrick". Catholic Encyclopedia.
  84. ^ Wiseman, Nicholas Patrick (February–May 1862). "The Old Countess of Desmond". The Dublin Review. 51. London: Thomas Richardson and Son: 53–4, 59–60, 52, 75, 77, 69.
  85. ^ "Micajah Weiss dies at 114.; Oldest Man in New York, a Raftsman, Was Married Four Times". The New York Times. 1914-09-26. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  86. ^ "Micajah Weiss/Wise: claimed 1800-1914 (114); evidence suggests 1811-". World's Oldest People. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  87. ^ Dzielska, Maria (1986). Apollonius of Tyana in Legend and History. Rome. pp. 30–8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  88. ^ "George Fruits (1762 – 1876)".
  89. ^ Guinness Book of World Records, 1979 and later editions.
  90. ^ 1880 "United States Census Individual Record: Mary Wood". Family Search. Retrieved 2008-03-02. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  91. ^ L.-L. B. Petersen and B. Jeune. "Age Validation of Centenarians in the Luxdorph Gallery". Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  92. ^ Jamin, Stefan (2010-05-26). "Joseph Brunner - German longevity claim (1706 - 1827)". World's Oldest People. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  93. ^ Marden, Orison Swett (2003) [1921]. The Secret of Achivement. Kessinger Publishing. p. 228.
  94. ^ Nutton, Vivian (1973). "The Chronology of Galen's Early Career". Classical Quarterly. 23: 158–71.
  95. ^ Nutton, Vivian (2004). Ancient Medicine. Routledge. pp. 226–7. ISBN 9780415086110.
  96. ^ "Galen ad multos annos" (PDF). Dynamis: acta hispanica ad medicinae scientiarumque historiam illustrandam. 15: 38. 1995.
  97. ^ Forbes, Alexander Penrose (1874). Lives of S. Ninian and S. Kentigern. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. p. 116, 370.
  98. ^ "Uncle Noah Raby, Who Lives on a New-Jersey 'Poor Farm'". The New York Times. 1896-04-07. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  99. ^ 1850 U.S. Census
  100. ^ "Attila". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (3d ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1992. p. 119.

Bibliography

  • Boia, Lucian (2004). Forever Young: A Cultural History of Longevity from Antiquity to the Present. ISBN 1861891547.
  • Thoms, William J. (1879). The Longevity of Man. Its Facts and Its Fictions. With a prefatory letter to Prof. Owen, C.B., F.R.S. on the limits and frequency of exceptional cases. London: F. Norgate.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Longevity_myths&oldid=389505793"