Saying that becoming a supercentenarian is a milestone most of us won’t reach is an understatement. If you’re familiar with the term “centenarian,” you can probably figure out what the super-sized version of that happens to be. It’s someone who’s made it all the way to the age of 110 and beyond. To put that into perspective, this piece is being written in 2024. For a person to be a supercentenarian today, they’d have to have been born in the year 1914!
Just think about the differences between the worlds of 1914 and 2024. World War I started in July of the year that person was born, and its armies were still largely horsedrawn. Automobiles were in their infancy and communication was mostly carried out through telegraphy. When this person achieved the status of supercentenarian, communication lines travel through space, cars drive themselves, and wars can be fought remotely and in the digital world. It’s impossible to foresee what the world will look like for a supercentenarian born today, so let’s take a look at those living people who were born at least 110 years ago! They live all around the world and their milestones should be celebrated.
Supercentenarians of the United States
Let’s start off with the supercentenarians currently living in the United States of America. According to Gerontology Wiki, there are four of them and they’re scattered across the landscape. Winnie Felps starts off the list as the youngest supercentenarian. She’s only 113 years old. She was born on October 10, 1911, in Texas and is the oldest living person in the state. Next up are Bonita Gibson born in Kansas and Mary Harris born in New York. Both women are older by a matter of days and topping out the lists of the longest-lived people in their states.
That brings us to Naomi Whitehead. She’s the oldest known living person in the United States at the 114 years and 72 days. She was born on September 26, 1910, in Georgia and currently lives in a senior living community in Greenville, Pennsylvania. She’s the last living person to have been born in 1910, in the country, and she’s the oldest living African American in the entire world. To put that into perspective, this African American woman was born a scant 45 years after slavery was abolished in the United States and she’s lived long enough to see Barack Obama serve two terms as president!
Supercentenarians of Europe
Then we get to Europe. There are six confirmed supercentenarians living on the continent and there’s a range of three years among them. Coming in at the youngest age is Andrée Bertoletto of France. This woman is 113 years old and is only the second oldest person living in her country. That honor goes to Marie-Rose Tessier, who comes in 114 years and 200 days, as of this writing. Between these two women, in age, are Klavdiya Gadyuchkina of Russia, Lucia Laura Sangenito of Italy, and Claudia Baccarini, also of Italy.
When it comes to the oldest living person in all of Europe, we have Ethel Caterham of the United Kingdom. She’s the last living English subject born in the 1900s and the oldest known survivor of COVID-19. She’s 115 years and 108 days old at the time of this writing and was born on August 21, 1909 in Hampshire, England. She’s also a traveler. Ethel has lived in India and Hong Kong, working as a nanny and running her own nursery. That’s a life well-lived and she’s still looking forward to her future in Surrey, England, where she’s happily retired.
Supercentenarians of Africa
Africa is also home to supercentenarians and there are four currently living on the continent. Each one is from a different country and their ages cover a range of just one year. Adele Samuelson is the youngest of the four at 110 years old. She was born in the Union of South Africa and currently lives in Israel. Then there’s Helene Malfuson. She was born on June 29, 1914 in Tunisia. Next up is Maria Helena Aguiar, born on November 2, 1913 in São Tomé and Principe. She moved to Portugal at the age or 3 and currently resides in Porto.
Oldest lived person born in Africa is Marie-Louise Bresson, who was born on March 15, 1913 in French Algeria. That makes her 111 years and 267 days old at the time of writing and she’s currently living in Montreal, Aude, Occitanie, France. Marie-Louise started working as a teacher at the age of 20 and she spent her career teaching math, spelling, history, and geography. She also learned how to read and write in Arabic. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting, painting, and embroidery. She also loves watching quiz shows and completing crossword puzzles.
Supercentenarians of Asia
Moving over onto the Asian continent, we have four supercentenarians currently living. They cover a wider range of four years. The youngest of them is Maria Ogiyenko at 110 years old. She was born in, and still resides in Russia. Next up is Adele Samuelson of Israel. Then there’s Zhou Renqing at 111 years and 30 days old at the time of writing. Zhou is also the first man on this entire list and he’s not alone. The oldest living Asian shares the same first name and both men were born and live in the country of China.
Zhou Laohua is 114 years and 96 days old at the time of writing and is the oldest supercentenarian living on the Asian continent. He was born on September 1, 1910 and currently lives in Guizhou, China. It’s worth nothing that his age is currently unvalidated. If true, it makes him one of the oldest people on the planet, as well as the oldest man still living. There isn’t much that’s known about him, but he’s still having a good time and living the best life he can while maintaining his privacy.
Supercentenarians on Oceania and North America
Oceania and the rest of North America are together since there are only a few people who have hit the milestone. Oceania is home to two of them. Kenneth Weeks is 111 years and 63 days old and living in Australia. Aileen Kars is 111 years and 86 days old, living in Australia. Then there are four more living in Canada. Maria Lacasse is 110 years old, Hazel Schultz is 111 years old, Margaret Romans is 112 years and 262 days old, and Hazel Skuce is 112 years and 300 days old.
Supercentenarians of South America
Finally, we get to South America. There are a total of five people and they’re all women. What sets this continent apart is that it’s home to the oldest person on this list. It’s also of note that, of the five people, four of them were born and still live in the same country. The youngest person is also the one living in a different country than the rest. She’s Isabel Barletta at an impressive 113 years and 86 days. Then there’s Maria Paschoalina de Castro at 113 years and 219 days. Older than her is Yolanda Beltrao de Azevedo at 113 years and 55 days. Then there’s Izabel Rosa Pereira at 114 years and 55 days.
What connects the continent’s oldest living supercentenarian to the previous three women is that they were all born and still live in Brazil. Topping this entire list is Inah Canabarro Lucas at the age of 116 years and 182 days at the time of this writing. She was born on June 8, 1908 and her age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group. Ijah was born in Sao Fancisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and was so skinny at her birth that no one thought she’d live past the age of 7. That’s how you prove them wrong!