15 Oldest People That Ever Lived

These seven individuals are the oldest persons to have ever lived. According to historical records, they all share the same gender because women often live longer than men.

1. Jeanne Calment: born 1875, died 1997

The oldest person to ever live smoked until she was 117 and consumed two pounds of chocolate every week. Jeanne Calment claims to have first encountered Vincent Van Gogh when she was 13 years old. She spent her entire life in France. She spent the majority of her life in Arles in obscurity, but in her final years she rose to fame all over the world.

She recorded the rap album “Mistress of Time” the year before she passed away. Calment lived a remarkable long life and once asserted that she had “never been sick.” She reportedly smoked and drank wine far into her old age and ate dessert with every meal.

2. Sarah Knauss: born 1880, died 1999 (aged 119)

The American native from Pennsylvania worked as an insurance office manager for most of her life and was known as the kindest resident in her nursing facility until she passed away.

Although she apparently enjoyed eating milk chocolate, cashew nuts, and potato chips in addition to watching golf on TV, she never revealed the secret to her long life. Interesting conspiracy theorist Nikolay Zak has questioned the veracity of Knauss’ age as well.

3. Nabi Tajima: born 1900, died 2018

Nabi Tajima, who is stated to be the oldest Asian ever, was born and raised on the tiny Japanese island of Kikaijima. She had nine children and, as of 2017, it was estimated that she had 160 living relatives, including great-great-great-grandchildren. Although her spouse lived to a remarkable age of 93, he died in 1991, leaving her a widow. Tajima attributed her lengthy life to a diet rich in flavor and a consistent schedule of sound sleep.

4. Lucy Hannah: born 1875, died 1993

Lucy Hannah, the second American on the list, is thought to be the oldest African-American to ever have lived. She was born free, although her parents were slaves. She had eight children, just two of whom were still alive when she passed away.

She apparently attributed her longevity and good health to a balanced diet and regular exercise. Hannah claimed to be 118 years old before she passed away, but an investigation revealed that she was actually 117 at the time of her death, which is still a remarkable achievement by any measure.

5. Marie-Louise Meilleur: born 1880, died 1998

Only four of her twelve children, who are French Canadian, survived her. She had 57 great-great-grandchildren, four great-great-great-grandchildren, 80 great-great-grandchildren, 85 grandkids, and so on. Meilleur smoked throughout the majority of her life and didn’t stop until she was 102 years old because of a cold. When asked how she had lived so long, she said that she had maintained her health by working hard and abstaining from meat and drink. She also gave credit to a high-salt diet.

6. Violet Brown: born 1900, died 2017

In an era when Jamaica was still a part of the British Empire, Violet Brown was born there. She was Queen Victoria’s last surviving subject at the time of her death. Brown shared a record with her son Harland Fairweather in addition to holding the global record for being the oldest person (until her passing in 2017).

With a combined age of 213 years and 345 days, he and his mother, who gave birth to him in 1920, held the record for the oldest parent and child. Brown claimed she felt wonderful and was healthier than her five remaining children just months before she passed away.

7. Emma Morano: born 1899, died 2017

Emma Morano, the second-oldest European ever, spent her life working in a factory and a boarding school kitchen. She didn’t retire until she was 75 years old. Pope Francis personally congratulated her on reaching the age of 116. She said that she ate three eggs a day, prepared her own grappa (an Italian brandy), and occasionally splurged on chocolate when asked what her secret to living a long life was.

8. Jiroemon Kimura – born 1897, died 2013

Jiroemon Kimura of Japan is one of the oldest men in history, having lived for 116 years and 54 days. He is possibly the oldest living World War I veteran, and he was born as the second surviving son out of eight children in Kinjiro Miyake. Jiroemon began his career as a telegraph boy before joining the Imperial Japanese Army’s communications corps. He died in 2013 as a result of pneumonia.

9. Christian Mortensen: born 1882, died 1998

Before Jiroemon Kimura surpassed him, Christian Mortensen was speculated to be the man with the longest lifespan. He was a supercentenarian from Denmark who lived to be 115 years and 252 days old. He was a farmhand and the son of a tailor in the Danish village of Skarup.

Christian did not drink, but he did occasionally smoke and eat vegetarian. He had a bad memory and was going blind toward the end of his life. Christian eventually passed away in 1998.

10. Kane Tanaka: born 1903, died 2022

Kane Tanaka, who lived to be 119 years and 107 days old, is the second-oldest verified individual after Jeanne Calment. Kane’s relatives said that she was born in 1902 and was from the southern island of Kyushu. Kane resided in a Fukuoka nursing home for the four years prior to her passing.

At the age of 35, Kane was identified as having paratyphoid fever, and at the age of 45, she was discovered to have pancreatic cancer. Kane had a colorectal cancer diagnosis at the age of 103. At 118 years old, Kane was still in excellent condition, however she passed away soon after in 2022.

11. Mathew Beard: born 1870, died 1985

In 1870, Mathew Beard was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and at the age of 12, he started working at a sawmill. Prior to his death in Florida in 1985 at the age of 114 years and 222 days, he was also a preacher and a tobacco farmer.

12. Misao Okawa: born 1898, died 2015

Misao Okawa, born in Tenma, Osaka in 1898, was the world’s oldest woman since Koto Okubo’s death. She had three children, two of which were still alive at the time of her death. Misao lived in an Osaka nursing home before passing away in 2015 from heart failure at the age of 117 and 27 days.

13. Walter Breuning: born 1896, died 2011

Walter Breuning was born in 1896 in Minnesota. Walter grew up in what he called the “dark ages,” as he and his family went without running water, plumbing, or even electricity. Before joining the Northern Railway, he labored scaping baking pans for 50 years.

Walter did enlist in the military, but he was turned down at first, and by the time the Second World War erupted, he was too old to serve. He died in 2011 at the age of 114 years and 205 days.

14. Yukichi Chuganji: born 1889, died 2003

Yukichi Chuganji died in 2003 at the age of 114 years and 189 days. He was born in Fukuoka in 1889 and did a variety of positions, including silkworm grower, community welfare worker, and bank employee. Yukichi disliked vegetables and preferred amounts of steak and fowl. He died of natural causes and set the record for being the world’s oldest man.

15. Lucille Randon: born 1904, died 2023

After Kane Tanaka of Japan passed away on April 19, 2022, Lucile Randon DC, commonly known as Sister André, of France was the oldest verified alive person in the world until her death at the age of 118 years, 340 days. Having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 a month before her 117th birthday, she is the oldest confirmed survivor of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fourth-oldest verified person ever.