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Top 10 Oldest People Ever

by Ajit Jha on September 17, 2011

Top 10 Oldest People Ever

We would all love to live longer, so long as we can do it functionally and with all our faculties in place. There is much argument and many conflicting ideas on what allows people to live a long and healthy life. Despite this there is evidence of people living to an extraordinary age while smoking all their life, eating chocolate, drinking alcohol and all sorts of other contraindicated behaviors.

This is a list not of centenarians (people who have reached the age of 100 years), but of supercentenarians, who are those that have reached the ripe old age of 110 years or more. supercentenarians represent only a small portion of those living over 100 years. Only 1 in 1000 centenarians reach the age of 110. Further, only 2 percent of supercentenarians live to see age 115. Currently there are a documented 76 female and 2 male supercentenarians.

This list includes only verified supercentenarians, leaving out claims like Shirali Muslim (although he is a bonus item). However there are a few disputed claims that do have some proof.

So here they are in order from youngest to oldest. (Source: listverse.com)

10.Kamato Hongo 16 September 1887 – 31 October 2003 (Disputed) Age: 116 years 45 days

Kamato Hongo, a Japanese supercentenarian, who was apparently the oldest living person from March 2002 until her death in 2003. She lived in Kagoshima and celebrated her 116th birthday a month before her death from pneumonia.

Hongo was born on the small island of Tokunoshima, she later moved to Kagoshima where she lived with her daughter. She became a minor celebrity and was a focus of some merchandise including wash-cloths, key-rings, phone cards and more (imagine how stylish a shirt with a wrinkled great grandmother on it would look). Hongo was 58 years old when World War II ended.

Kyushu, where Kagoshima is located is home to several other age record holders, making it an island of longevity, much like Okinawa

9. Carrie C. White

November 18th 1874 – February 14th 1991 Age:

116 years 88 days

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Carrie C. White was recognized by Guinness world records as the oldest person in the world at around the time of her 114th birthday in 1988. Carrie was a resident of Palatka, Florida nursing home. She was in a nursing home not because of age, but due to a nervous breakdown in 1909, which left her institutionalized. Carrie is another case of dispute, however her documentation seems to be in order enough to give her the title of world’s oldest person between January 11th 1988 and February 14th 1991.

8. Elizabeth Bolden

15 August 1890 – 11th December 2006 Age: 116 years 118 days

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Elizabeth is a case that is not disputed, with documents in perfect order. And yes, she is another one from the United States. In fact, the US has more supercentenarians than any country in the world. They are not considered a land of longevity though due to the number per capita.

Elizabeth Bolden was one of only seven people worldwide that lived until age 116. Her birth was the last remaining documented birth of 1890. Elizabeth Jones (later Bolden) was born in Somerville Tennessee, the daughter of freed slaves. Lizzie married Lewis Bolden circa 1908 and their first child, a son named Ezell, was born on September 21st 1909. She had seven children in total, only two of whom were still alive at the time of her death in 2006.

In addition to Lizzie’s seven children she had 40 grand-children, 75 great grand-children, 150 great-great grand-children, 220 great-great-great grand-children and 75 great-great-great-great grand-children. Geez, imagine Christmas at granny’s house.

During my research I couldn’t find any documentation on her lifestyle habits. However a few lower down on this list reveal some of their secrets.

7. Tane Ikai

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