Top 10 Oldest People in History

Mrs. Tuti Yusupova lived in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. She was born on July 1, 1880, and passed away on March 28, 2015, reaching the age of 134 years and 274 days. Yusupova is one of the longest-living people in the world, having lived through three centuries. She was officially recognized as the world's oldest person when her descendants found documents confirming her birth date. Both her birth certificate and passport show that she was born on July 1, 1880. Therefore, she lived for 134 years and 274 days until her passing. Her family is in the process of submitting the documentation to the Guinness World Records for verification.

During her funeral, Mr. Baxadir Yangibaev, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, attended the ceremony. He shared that the region, with a population of 30 million, has about 8,700 centenarians. Yusupova had previously appeared in a Russian documentary about the world's oldest people. After years of hard work, she spent much of her time watching movies to relax her mind. She also revealed that the key to her long life was hard work in the fields, living an honest life, and helping others. Although she had only two children, by the time of her death, her descendants numbered in the hundreds. As of now, Yusupova holds the title of the oldest person in the world.

Age: 134 years old

Mrs. Antisa Khvichava lived in the village of Sachino, Russia. With her incredible longevity, she is considered one of the longest-living people in the world and the oldest living person in Russia. A Georgian official, Georgiy Meurnishvili, confirmed that Khvichava's documents show her birthdate as July 8, 1880. While some doubt the exact age, the scientific community generally accepts these records, although no one can definitively say what the maximum lifespan of humans can be.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest verified person in 1798 lived to 103 years. In 1997, a French woman named Jeanne Calment broke that record, living to 122. Khvichava retired in 1965 and previously worked as a corn cutter and tea picker. She has 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren, with the number continuing to grow. To maintain her health and longevity, she consumed small amounts of local homemade alcohol daily. However, some people question the accuracy of her birth records, as the original birth certificate has been lost. Despite this, local authorities assert that her age is correct, with supporting documentation. Today, Khvichava remains on the list of the oldest living people and is widely recognized.

Age: 132 years old

Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Trù was recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization and the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world and holds the title of the oldest person in Vietnam. She was raised in a farming family in Bình Chánh, Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Trù needed assistance walking and her memory had become somewhat faded. However, upon seeing visitors, she would smile and invite them to sit, chatting cheerfully. We brought her some sweets and fruit, which made her very happy. While nibbling on the treats, she shared stories from her youth, from her days working in the fields to how she and her husband met, how they raised their children, and the time her husband passed away. Her memories were fragmented, but filled with warmth.

She had 11 children (3 sons and 8 daughters), over 70 grandchildren, and currently, two of her children are still alive, both in their 80s. Her family shared that she always maintained a proper diet and lifestyle. According to her daughter-in-law, when she was healthy, Ms. Trù spent most of her days working in the fields and cooking for her family. As she aged and her health declined, she stayed at home, caring for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and visited a nearby temple regularly. Despite being illiterate, Ms. Trù often recited poetry and sang folk songs to her grandchildren. Her diet mostly consisted of porridge, rice, berries, and a glass of milk in the morning. She also followed a disciplined exercise routine and healthy habits, which could be key factors that contributed to her remarkable longevity, making her one of the oldest people alive today.

Lived to: 123 years old

Jeanne Calment is known as one of the longest-living people in the world. Her health remained exceptional well into her later years; she continued cycling at the age of 100 and walking until she was 114—remarkable feats for someone her age. Calment attributed her longevity to the use of olive oil, which she applied to both her food and her skin. Additionally, she drank red wine regularly and indulged in plenty of chocolate.

In an interview when she turned 111, she mentioned that she had only moved into a nursing home two years prior. Before that, she had been living alone until the age of 109. During her health check-ups at the nursing home, doctors found that she was still very mobile, mentally sharp, and physically appeared 10 to 20 years younger than her actual age. By the time of her passing, her eyesight had nearly gone, but overall her health remained relatively strong. Jeanne Calment lived contrary to most nutritional advice that doctors typically give to those wishing for longevity: she smoked, drank alcohol, ate plenty of sugar and red meat, and never had breakfast—just 1 or 2 cups of coffee. For lunch, she enjoyed braised beef, fish, and Port wine. She frequently requested spicy and fried foods, and always added generous amounts of cooking oil to enhance flavor. Additionally, she often ate fruit salads with bananas and oranges. By 116, she still had chocolate for dessert, consuming up to a kilogram each week.

Age at death: 122 years old

Shigechiyo Izumi was an extraordinary case among the longest-living people of his time. His name was recorded in Japan’s first-ever census in 1871. Born in Japan on June 29, 1865, he passed away on February 21, 1986, at the remarkable age of 120 years and 237 days. His longevity made him one of the rare males to reach such an advanced age.

Izumi began working at the age of 6 in 1872, and remarkably, continued his work until 1970, when he was 105 years old. His wife passed away at 90. Over his long life, he outlived 71 Japanese prime ministers. Izumi passed away due to pneumonia in the hospital, on the same day that Jeanne Calment celebrated her 111th birthday. After a short hospitalization, Izumi died from pneumonia at 9:15 PM JST on February 21, 1986.

Izumi was one of only two people (the other being Jeanne Calment) confirmed to have lived beyond their 120th birthday. However, later research slightly diminished the importance of this claim. In April 1987, 14 months after Izumi's death, the Epidemiology Department at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatrics Research Institute reported that an investigation into his family records suggested he may have been 105 years old at the time of his passing. The 2011 Guinness World Records noted that the birth certificate used as proof might have actually belonged to his younger brother, who passed away young, and that the family may have reused the name “Shigechiyo” as an abbreviation.

Age at death: 120 years

Sarah DeRemer Clark was born on September 24, 1880, in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, in a small coal mining village. She married Abraham Lincoln Knauss in 1901, who initially worked as a tanner before becoming a prominent leader of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and later a lawyer and judge, serving from 1937 until his retirement in 1951. Their only child, Kathryn, was born in 1903 and lived to be 101, passing away in 2005. Sarah's husband passed away in 1965 at the age of 86.

In 1995, at the age of 116, Sarah expressed that she was enjoying life, still in good health, and able to “do everything.” That same year, she was recognized as the oldest person in the United States, until Carrie C. White (born 1874, died 1991) was later considered to have surpassed her. In 1998, when Marie-Louise Meilleur of Canada, aged 117, passed away, Sarah became the oldest living person in the world. When her newfound fame was mentioned by family members, Sarah would smile and respond, “So what? Before I pass, there will have been six generations living in my family.”

Age at death: 119 years

Christian Mortensen was born on August 16, 1882, in the village of Skårup, near Skanderborg, Denmark, as the son of a tailor. At the age of 16, he began learning the tailoring trade in Skanderborg in 1898, later working as a farmer. Mortensen’s marriage was not particularly happy, and they had no children, as they had not planned to start a family. In 1903, around the age of 20 or 21, Mortensen immigrated to Ellis Island in New York Harbor. He traveled as a tailor but eventually settled in Chicago where he had relatives. Over the years, Mortensen worked in various jobs, including as a milkman for Borden Dairy Company, a restaurant owner, and a factory worker for Continental Can Company.

After less than ten years of marriage, Mortensen divorced and never remarried. In 1950, he retired near Galveston Bay, Texas. Twenty-eight years later, at the age of 96, he moved to a nursing home in San Rafael, California. Mortensen mentioned that he cycled to the Aldersly Retirement Community and told the staff he had come to stay. He lived in Aldersly for nearly two decades before passing away in 1998. Throughout his life, he had worked a variety of jobs, including factory labor and milk delivery. In his later years, Mortensen, aware of his lack of children, expressed a desire to live in a nursing home. Occasionally, he smoked cigarettes, which led to nearly total loss of vision in his old age.

Age at death: 115 years

Trần Tuấn is recorded in the historical texts of the 12th volume of the Vĩnh Thái Huyện Chí, dating back to the 13th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, under the title Khắc Minh. To this day, he holds the record for being the longest-lived person in history. Born in 881 during the reign of Emperor Hy Tong of the Tang Dynasty (the year of the Ox), he passed away in 1324 during the reign of Emperor Taiding of the Yuan Dynasty, at the astonishing age of 443 years. After his death, locals carved a statue of him, which was placed alongside his bones and worshipped at the Thang Tuyền temple. A wooden plaque with his name still survives to this day. During his life, it is said that Trần Tuấn lived alone and had no children. In his later years, he was fortunate to have family members care for him in turn.

Before he gained fame for being the world’s longest-living person, it is said that as he aged, he became more and more frail, resembling a child. To make it easier for people to care for him, he was placed in a basket and carried around. Remarkably, he lived through five centuries, which is an extraordinary feat few can achieve. Some speculate that his proximity to a hot spring (at 73°C) may have contributed to his longevity. The exact reasons behind his extraordinary lifespan of 443 years remain a mystery. After his death, a statue was erected in his honor, and his bones were enshrined in the Thang Tuyền temple, with the wooden plaque bearing his name still preserved today.

Age at death: 443 years

Lý Thanh Vân was once recognized as the longest-living person in China, a title that still holds widespread recognition today. He spent most of his life in the mountains, becoming a master of Qigong. Born in 1677, he passed away in 1933, living to the age of 256. Lý Thanh Vân was a renowned traditional doctor, living through nine different Chinese dynasties, from the Qing Dynasty's Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Xuantong to the early years of the Republic of China. He is considered a rare case of extreme longevity. According to him, his secret to a long life was a vegetarian diet, a peaceful and joyful mind, and drinking tea made from lotus leaves, cassia seeds, monk fruit, and goji berries. He believed that maintaining a calm state of mind and following a lifestyle of 'sitting like a turtle, walking like a bird, and sleeping like a dog' were the key to his long life.

Lý Thanh Vân worked as a merchant, selling herbs such as Ganoderma mushrooms, ginseng roots, mulberry leaves, and gotu kola, alongside other medicinal plants. He lived by a diet based on herbs and rice wine. He often credited his longevity to his diet, a view that is supported by modern science, which acknowledges the significant impact of diet on aging.

Age at death: 256 years

Turinah is a resident of southern Sumatra, Indonesia. Throughout her life, all official documents verifying her birth year were lost. She claimed to have burned them in 1965 for safety reasons, so her exact age cannot be confirmed. However, in 2010, when it was revealed that she had a daughter aged 108, doubts about her age were put to rest.

Despite her advanced age, Turinah maintains sharp mental faculties. She can see and hear clearly, still smokes, and even handles household chores daily. At 157 years old, she continues to manage her household with ease. Remarkably, she speaks fluent Dutch, a legacy of Indonesia's colonial past under the Netherlands until 1945.

If Turinah's age were officially recognized, she would likely hold the Guinness World Record for the longest-lived woman. The oldest verified living person in the world is Frenchwoman Eugénie Blanchard, who lived to 114 years and 75 days in the Caribbean. The longest-lived person on record is Jeanne Calment from France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days. Turinah passed away in 2012 at the age of 159, though no official documents have been able to confirm her true age.

Age at death: 159 years