Besse Cooper
Bessie Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Besse Berry Brown August 26, 1896 (age 128 years, 47 days) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | East Tennessee State Normal School |
| Occupation | Retired teacher |
| Known for | Oldest living person in the world, oldest living person in the United States, and last known living person born in 1896 |
| Spouse(s) | Luther Cooper (1895-1963) (m. 1924-1963, his death) |
| Children | 4: Angeline, Luther Jr., Sidney, Nancy |
| Parent(s) | Richard Brown and Angeline Berry |
Besse Berry Cooper (née Brown; born August 26, 1896) is an American supercentenarian. A former teacher, she became the world's oldest living person following the death of the Brazilian supercentenarian Maria Gomes Valentim on June 21, 2011. She is one of the undisputed 10 oldest people ever recorded, and is the last living person verified to have been born in 1896.[1]
Biography
Cooper was born Besse Berry Brown in Sullivan County, Tennessee, on August 26, 1896, the third of eight children born to Richard Brown (1861-1932) and Angeline Berry (1866-1927).[2] She graduated from East Tennessee State Normal School in 1916, and worked as a schoolteacher in Tennessee before moving to Georgia around the time of America's entrance into World War I in 1917.[3] She taught in Between, Georgia, until 1929. She married Luther Cooper in 1924 and was widowed in 1963, having had four children with him; their first child was born in 1929 and their last in 1944.[4][5]
Besse Cooper became Georgia's oldest resident on January 19, 2009, following the death of 113-year-old Beatrice Farve.[4] Cooper is additionally the second-oldest verified person from Tennessee, after Elizabeth Bolden, who died in December 2006, aged 116 years 118 days. Cooper reputedly attributes her longevity to "minding her own business" and avoiding junk food.[6]
At the time of her 115th birthday in August 2011, Cooper had four children, 12 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.[7] She currently resides in Park Place Nursing Home in Monroe, Georgia.[8]
Longevity milestones
Before 2011
- 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.
- November 19, 2009 – Chiyo Shiraishi died. Besse Cooper, aged 113 years 88 days, entered the list of the 10 oldest living people in the world.
2011
- January 31, 2011 – Eunice Sanborn died. Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 158 days, became the oldest living person in the United States. She was thought to be the world's oldest living individual until May 18, 2011, when Brazil's Maria Gomes Valentim was verified as being older.
- 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 had been verified as the oldest living person in the world since November 4, 2010.[9]
- June 21, 2011 – Maria Gomes Valentim died. Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 299 days, became the world's oldest living person. She also became the third person to regain the status of the verified oldest living person, the first being Jeanne Calment and the second being Elizabeth Bolden.
- August 9, 2011 – Besse Cooper, aged 114 years 348 days, became the longest-lived person born in 1896, surpassing Maria Gomes Valentim.
- August 26, 2011 – Besse Cooper became the 24th undisputed person on record to reach the age of 115, and the first to do so since Gertrude Baines, who celebrated her 115th birthday on April 6, 2009.[7]
- December 2, 2011 – Chiyono Hasegawa died. Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 98 days, became the last verified surviving person born in 1896.[1]
2012
- January 27, 2012 – Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 154 days, surpassed Bettie Wilson to become one of the 10 verified oldest Americans ever.
- March 6, 2012 – Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 193 days, surpassed Margaret Skeete to become one of the 15 verified oldest people ever.
- April 3, 2012 – Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 221 days, surpassed Edna Parker to become one of the 10 undisputed oldest women ever. In surpassing Parker, Cooper also became the oldest living person since 116-year-old Elizabeth Bolden died in December 2006.
- April 11, 2012 – Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 229 days, surpassed Charlotte Hughes to become one of the 10 undisputed oldest people ever.
- May 5, 2012 – Besse Cooper, aged 115 years 253 days, surpassed Christian Mortensen to become one of the five undisputed oldest Americans ever.
References
- ^ a b "Japan’s oldest person, 115-year-old Chiyono Hasegawa, dies". Washington Post, December 2, 2011.
- ^ Associated Press (March 9, 2010). "Oldest American dies". Chicago Tribune. p. 3.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Brooks, James. "World's oldest person is a graduate of what is now ETSU". Johnson City Press. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Milligan, Stephen (August 26, 2007). "At 111, she's second oldest in Georgia". Walton Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
- ^ "Birthday kiss for a centenarian". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 27, 2009. p. B1.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "A look back at 2011". Walton Tribune, January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ a b Milligan, Stephen (August 28, 2011). "115 years and still going strong". Walton Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ "Governor visits Besse". Walton Tribune, updated June 21, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ Yapp, Robin (May 18, 2011). "Brazilian woman aged 114 is world's oldest person". The Daily Telegraph.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
See also
- Centenarian
- List of living supercentenarians
- List of oldest living people by nation
- List of oldest people by year of birth
- List of supercentenarians from the United States
- List of the verified oldest people
- List of the verified oldest women
- Oldest people