Longevity Claims (115-129)

Editor's note: this article is seriously out-of-date with some sections. Use with caution, particularly for the lists of recent claims.

Longevity claims are claims to extreme longevity (usually 115 or older) that either cannot be verified or for whom only some evidence is available. The issue of just what constitutes a "longevity claim" has been problematic. By its broadest definition, a "longevity claim" is "any claim to longevity". However, for the purpose of scientific standardization (analogous to "meterological winter"), the definition of "longevity claim" must be defined in such a way that it can be useful as a category. The scientific definition limits claims to those that are of such an extreme age that the likelihood of the claim being true, prima facie, is improbable, but not impossible. Currently, this definition works best with the range of 115 (1-2% chance of being true) to 130 (the approximate theoretical maximum human lifespan). Longevity claims differ from existing verified supercentenarian cases, and also from longevity myths in that either some evidence exists, the case has not been proven false, and/or the claim was not constructed as a result of a longevity myth, which tends to focus on the village elder concept, fountain of youth concept, nationalist mythology, racial mythology, patriarchal mythology, etc. One test of this is the idea, put forth by William Thoms in the 1870s, of the 100th birthday test: is there evidence of the person claiming to be age 100 some 10 or more years prior to their claim? This test does not prove a person's age (indeed, Susie Brunson passed this test, but later was shown to have exaggerated her age well before this time). However, this test does separate the typical pension-claim longevity exaggeration (which tends to run to about age 115 up to 125) and the myth of longevity claim, whereby a spontaneous claim is made that a certain village elder is 150 or 167. E.g.: Bir Narayan Chaudhuri may have claimed to be 141 years old in 1998, but there was no evidence of a 100th birthday party 41 years earlier. For claims to 130+ (beyond the range of statistical scientific possibility), please see longevity myths.

Problems with the documentation process

In the transitional period of record-keeping, records tend to exist for the wealthy and upper-middle classes, but are often spotty and non-existent for the poor. In the United States, birth registration did not begin in Mississippi until 1912 and was not universal until 1933. Hence, there is the problem of many cases whereby no actual birth record exists. Since some were recorded in the census, however, there may be obtainable evidence that tends to support the age claim. Sometimes, however, a single year may be off. In the case of Susie Gibson, for example, the family (and Susie herself) claimed her to be born on 31 October 1889, but no birth document has (yet) been located. The earliest record available, the 1900 census, lists her as born in October 1890. Hence, since the 1900 census is a proximate record (not written in 1890), it can be said that Susie was at least 115, and it's still possible that she was in fact 116 - assuming that the person claiming to be Susie Gibson is the woman born in 1889 or 1890. In a similar, related case, inconsistent records suggested that Maggie Barnes was at least 115, but possibly a year older. Documentarians tend to "err on the side of caution". Thus, Barnes claimed to be 117, and was at least 115, but could have been 116.

In some cases a person may just miss the standards required for acceptance. For example, Rosa Williams of College Park, Georgia died in January 2001, allegedly born in May 1886. The 1910 census listed her as 22, suggesting she was born in May 1887 or May 1888. Hence, we cannot be certain of her age, but some evidence exists to support the claim. This type of case is said to be partially validated, although she was at least 112, so a supercentenarian regardless.

In another type of case, the only records that exist are late-life documents. Because age inflation often occurs in adulthood (to avoid military service; to apply for a pension early, or because the government began record-keeping during their mid-lifetime), unverified claims also exist. Unverified claims are less likely to be true (because the records are written later), but are still possible. However, because demographic mortality tables show ages above 130 to be extremely unlikely to be true (on the order of trillions to one odds), it would be best to assume that unverified claims to age 130 and above are automatically false, and hence best served by longevity myths. The purpose of longevity claims, then, is to serve as an inventory for the grey area between validated (certainly true cases) and mythical (cases improbable in the extreme that nonetheless may be accepted as valid under non-scientific discourses, such as religion). For example, Hanna Barysevich of Belarus, who claimed to have been 118, can neither be verified nor debunked, and the age claim was within the realm of possibility (the maximum proven age being 122). Hence, her case was a longevity claim.

Lists of longevity claims

The below lists are meant to show the present and past range of longevity claims, in the grey area between verified and impossible. The lists should be viewed as a spectrum, with the lower ages being more likely to be true and the higher ages less likely to be true.

These lists also serve the purpose of showing the wide range of distribution of extreme claims, which refutes the contention that such claims are particular to only certain "longevity villages". The lists also help to dispel the notion that one claimant should be accepted (without records) while ignoring all the other claims out there (which would also have to be accepted if records weren't required). Finally, because a few of the claims may be true but records do not exist or have not been found, the lists serve the third purpose of categorizing those grey area cases (such as the one of Maria Strelnikova of Russia) that could be true, but have not (yet) been proven as such.

Main article: List of living longevity claims

Recent claims with no records (presumed to be living)

These cases have no publicly available early-life records to support them, but have been made in the press. At the very least, the person should have a claimed year, month and day of birth to be listed here. Claims that don't should be listed in the article about longevity myths. Only claims of at least 113 are included here. If a case has not been brought up to date in the last two years, it is moved to the "limbo" list (a one-year window is used for validated cases; the issue here is tracking alternative claims, not providing statistical information). Note: The current oldest verified living person is Chiyo Miyako of Japan, who is currently 117 years old.

Name	Claimed birth	Alleged age	Sex	Country of Residence	Last Known Update
Cliceria Gomez-Morales	20 Sep 1885?	138 years, 211 days	F	MEX	28 Apr 2007
Sadiq Sawut	9 Aug 1887?	136 years, 253 days	M	CHN	7 Oct 2008
Clara MacLeash	1 Jan 1890?	134 years, 108 days	F	JAM
Magomed Labazanov	1 May 1890?	133 years, 353 days	M	RUS	5 May 2008
Maikup Zhan	15 Jun 1890?	133 years, 308 days	F	CHN	7 Oct 2008
Ana Maria Perez Gonzalez	22 Jun 1890?	133 years, 301 days	F	MEX
Baji Safaorva	3 Jul 1890?	133 years, 290 days	F	AZE
Amai Cering	16 Mar 1891?	133 years, 34 days	F	CHN
Sostenes Martínez	22 Apr 1891?	132 years, 362 days	M	MEX
Elias Athanasiades	14 May 1891?	132 years, 340 days	M	TURGRE
Lu Zijian	15 Oct 1893?	130 years, 186 days	M	CHN
Tatekulu Wilhem Shinima Niilenge	6 Apr 1894?	130 years, 13 days	M	NAM	11 Jan 2008
He Wenzhang	9 Apr 1894?	130 years, 10 days	M	CHN	7 Oct 2008
Tǎnase Tǎnase	15 Oct 1894?	129 years, 186 days	M	ROU	15 Jul 2007

Limbo cases (no updates within at least two years)

Name	Claimed birth	Alleged age	Sex	Country of Residence	Last Known Update
Feime Hassanova	14 April 1879?	145 years, 5 days	F	BUL	April 1999
Noninji Elizabeth Bete	21 May 1886?	137 years, 333 days	F	ZAF	Dec 2005
Goshada Tsallaeva	15 Nov 1886?	137 years, 155 days	F	RUS	July 2006
Józef Piotrowski	7 Sept 1887?	136 years, 224 days	M	POL	8 Sep 2005
Amelia Costa dos Santos	15 May 1888?	135 years, 339 days	F	BRA	April 2005
LaJean Smith	23 June 1889?	134 years, 300 days	F	USA	June 2006
Marfa Salaikijskaja	10 Sept 1889?	134 years, 221 days	F	LTU	Sept 2004
Floripes Luzia Damasio	13 Dec 1889?	134 years, 127 days	F	BRA	2005
Pa Igboezu Asoegwu	20 April 1890?	133 years, 364 days	M	NGA	April 2006
Khabibamal Khamitova	1 July 1890?	133 years, 292 days	F	RUS	July 2006
Ángel Alberto Rengifo Cerquera	31 Dec 1891?	132 years, 109 days	M	COL	22 Aug 2006
Carmen Catrileo Hualla	18 July 1892?	131 years, 275 days	F	CHL	1 Feb 2005
Elizabeth Johnson	25 Dec 1892?	131 years, 115 days	F	USA	Dec 2005
Ellen Spencer	3 Jan 1893?	131 years, 106 days	F	JAM	22 Jan 2006

Longevity claims of the past (115+)

Note: only claims with a claimed birth and death date, and an age between 115 and 130 are included. Claims above 130 are considered to be longevity myths. Disproven claims should also be listed in the debunked cases page. This list here represents the 'grey' area of cases on the cusp of believability. Cases which are likely to be true still have to be added here as long as they're unverified.

Name	Sex	Claimed birth date	Death date	Claimed age	Country
Ali Ben Mohamed El Amri	M	5 Oct 1880?	fl. 30 Sep 2010	129 years, 360 days+	TUN
Jose Aguinelo dos Santos	M	7 July 1888?	20 Dec 2017	129 years, 166 days	BRA
Maria do Carmo Geronimo	F	5 Mar 1871?	14 Jul 2000	129 years, 101 days	BRA
Mary Ewen	F	5 May 1878?	10 Apr 2007	128 years, 340 days	JAM
Elizabeth Israel	F	27 Jan 1875?	14 Oct 2003	128 years, 260 days	DMA
Jose del Rosario Serrano	M	5 Mar 1881?	24 Apr 2009	128 years, 50 days	COL
Swami Kalyan Dev	M	26 Jun 1876?	12 Jul 2004	128 years, 16 days	IND
William Johnson	M	8 May 1881?	c.15 May 2009	128 years, c.7 days	USA
Luo Meizhen	F	9 Jul 1885?	9 Jun 2013	127 years, 335 days	CHN
Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodriguez	F	2 Feb 1885?	24 Dec 2012	127 years, 326 days	CUB
Halim Solmaz	M	1 Jul 1884?	29 Mar 2012	127 years, 272 days	TUR
Tshinyelo Dora Muzila	F	4 May 1880?	14 Jan 2008	127 years, 255 days	ZAF
Benito Martínez Abrogán	M	19 Jun 1880?	11 Oct 2006	126 years, 114 days	HAI CUB
Jackson Pollard	M	15 Dec 1869?	25 Oct 1995	125 years, 314 days	USA
Juan Ramos	M	24 Jun 1880?	24 Jan 2006	125 years, 214 days	CUBUSA
Aberewa Grace	F	16 Aug 1878?	18 Jan 2004	125 years, 155 days	GHA
Alberta Davis	F	24 Dec 1881?	27 Jan 2007	125 years, 34 days	USA
Anna Visser	F	25 Dec 1878?	8 Jan 2004	125 years, 14 days	NAM
Augusta Watts	F	15 Aug 1876?	9 Jul 2001	124 years, 328 days	USA
Maria Etelvina dos Santos	F	15 Jul 1878?	8 Mar 2003	124 years, 236 days	BRA
Armando Frid	M	24 May 1866?	28 Jul 1990	124 years, 65 days	ARG
Ana Martinha da Silva	F	27 Aug 1880?	27 Jul 2004	123 years, 337 days	BRA
Arthur Reed	F	28 Jun 1860?	15 Apr 1984	123 years, 292 days	USA
Hava Rexha	F	22 Aug 1880?	8 Nov 2003	123 years, 78 days	ALB
Mark Thrash	M	25 Dec 1820?	17 Dec 1943	122 years, 357 days	USA
Live Larsdatter	F	6 Aug 1575?	9 July 1698	122 years, 337 days	DEN
Oberia Coffin	F	1 Dec 1883?	18 Oct 2006	122 years, 321 days	USA
Dora Jacobs	F	6 May 1880?	19 Jan 2003	122 years, 258 days	ZAF
Mamie Evans	F	2 Jul 1872?	15 Jan 1995	122 years, 197 days	USA
David Peterson	M	22 Nov 1850?	31 May 1973	122 years, 190 days	USA
Sarah Hoover	F	25 Jun 1874?	15 Dec 1996	122 years, 173 days	USA
Lich Nguyen	M	4 Dec 1876?	11 Dec 1998	122 years, 7 days	VIE USA
Mary Ducksworth	F	4 Jun 1861?	19 Apr 1983	121 years, 319 days	USA
William DuBerry	M	7 Feb 1870?	14 Nov 1991	121 years, 279 days	USA
Celino Villanueva	M	25 July 1896?	18 Apr 2018	121 years, 267 days	CHL
Fred Greenwell	M	26 Jan 1880?	22 Jan 2001	120 years, 362 days	USA
Joseph Brunner	M	26 Nov 1706?	19 Nov 1827	120 years, 358 days	GER
Atidje Starkova	F	12 May 1875?	24 Jan 1996	120 years, 257 days	BUL
Pearl Gartrell	F	1 Apr 1888?	23 Nov 2008	120 years, 243 days	USA
Du Pinhua	F	22 Apr 1886?	11 Dec 2006	120 years, 233 days	CHN
Tatzumbia Dupea	F	26 Jul 1849?	26 Feb 1970	120 years, 217 days	USA
Ruperto Hernández	F	13 Jun 1887?	10 Aug 2007	120 years, 58 days	NIC
Li Cairong	F	12 Nov 1885?	9 May 2005	119 years, 178 days	CHN
Emma Bodie Begay	F	3 Nov 1887	6 Apr 2007	119 years, 154 days	USA
Józef Buszyło	M	7 Oct 1887	8 Mar 2007	119 years, 152 days	POL
Hanna Barysevich	F	18 May 1888	23 Feb 2007	118 years, 281 days	BLR
Rose Peters	F	21 Feb 1883	26 Sep 2001	118 years, 217 days	DMA
Felicie Cormier	F	9 Nov 1879	14 Apr 1998	118 years, 156 days	USA
Alberto Yoip	M	12 May 1886	23 Jul 2004	118 years, 72 days	CUB
Daniel Campbell	M	12 Dec 1725	12 Dec 1843	118 years, 0 days	UK USA
Effie McLean	F	20 Jan 1726	11 Dec 1843	117 years, 325 days	USA
Varvara Semennikova	F	10 May 1890	9 Mar 2008	117 years, 304 days	RUS
Dominga Pantoja Nique	F	11 May 1889	14 Feb 2007	117 years, 279 days	PER
Maria Andersson	F	24 Dec 1828	24 Aug 1946	117 years, 243 days	FIN
Maria Juana Martinez	F	7 May 1898	20 Dec 2015	117 years, 227 days	ARG
Li Ada	F	11 Apr 1889	24 Sep 2006	117 years, 166 days	CHN
Katie Bruce	F	11 Mar 1890	16 Jul 2007	117 years, 127 days	USA
Andrew Hatch	M	7 Oct 1898	18 Jan 2016	117 years, 103 days	USA
Luke Blackwell	M	5 May 1876	10 Jun 1993	117 years, 36 days	USA
Nellie Chee	F	15 Oct 1889	14 Nov 2006	117 years, 30 days	USA
Maria Domingas Vaz de Lima	F	15 Aug 1899?	4 Sept 2016	117 years, 20 days	BRA
Maria Diaz Cortes	F	4 Jan 1892?	15 Jan 2009	117 years, 11 days	ESP
Sebastiana de Lourdes Silva	F	3 May 1895	1 Apr 2012	116 years, 334 days	BRA
Agora Rafte	F	13 Mar 1890	9 Jan 2007	116 years, 300 days	GREROU
Amanda Aguilar	F	3 May 1890	14 Feb 2007	116 years, 287 days	NIC
Nils Ohrberg	M	10 Jan 1700	12 Oct 1816	116 years, 276 days	SWE
Hryhoriy Nestor	M	15 Mar 1891	14 Dec 2007	116 years, 274 days	UKR
Francisca Simao	F	9 Jan 1901	8 Oct 2017	116 years, 272 days	BRA
Ying Lou Huang	F	15 May 1898	28 Jan 2015	116 years, 258 days	CHNUSA
Anisio Rodrigues Alves	M	30 Dec 1892	16 Aug 2009	116 years, 229 days	BRA
Marianna Ostrowska	F	5 Aug 1897	Jan 2014	116 years, c.149 days	POL
Clementina Rodríguez Quiros	F	13 Nov 1891	23 Mar 2008	116 years, 131 days	PAN
Minnie Lee Nave	F	15 Aug 1890	21 Nov 2006	116 years, 98 days	USA
Carrie White	F	18 Nov 1874	14 Feb 1991	116 years, 88 days	USA
Ciriaca Zapata	F	23 Sep 1898	Dec 2014	116 years, c.69 days	COL
Dora Meyers	F	14 Jul 1816	11 Sep 1932	116 years, 59 days	GERUSA
Kamato Hongo	F	16 Sep 1887	31 Oct 2003	116 years, 45 days	JPN
Bartola Cornelio	F	10 Jul 1898	18 Aug 2014	116 years, 39 days	DOM
Paweł Parniak	M	27 Feb 1890	27 Mar 2006	116 years, 28 days	POL
Willie Shoulders	M	25 Dec 1897	7 Jan 2014	116 years, 13 days	USA
Manuel Carrasco Rodriguez	M	4 Oct 1898	26 Aug 2014	115 years, 326 days	PAN
Leodegaria Cavalcanti	F	17 Nov 1899	21 Aug 2015	115 years, 277 days	BRA
Sadie Caver	F	1 Apr 1888	21 Nov 2003	115 years, 234 days	USA
Mary Sullivan	F	1 Jun 1722	20 Dec 1837	115 years, 202 days	USA
Rosa Lumpkin	F	17 Jul 1876	23 Dec 1991	115 years, 159 days	USA
Katharine Reusch	F	21 Feb 1835	28 Jul 1950	115 years, 157 days	BRA
Maria Strelnikova	F	15 Mar 1890	3 May 2005	115 years, 49 days	RUS
Katie Hatton	F	18 Dec 1876	24 Jan 1992	115 years, 37 days	USA

Incomplete Cases

Here are claims which are incomplete e.g Either missing an exact birthdate or deathdate.

Name	Claimed birth	Death	Alleged age	Sex	Country (birth/death, if different from each other)
Katrina Cuaresma Sapal	1875?	10 June 2004	129? years	F	PHL
Leah Lesczynski	1768?	December 1892	124 years	F	USA
Zeyneb Mammadova	1886?	September 2008	122 years	F	AZE
Annibal Camoux	1638?	1759	121 years	M	FRA
Maria Shakwei Chepkemoi	1885	August 2004	119 years	F	KEN
Anton Adner	1704/1705?	15 March 1822	117 years	M	GER
Franz Josef Eder	1794?	5 May 1911	116 years	M	GER
Daniel Wanjau	1889?	August 2004	115 years	M	KEN

External links

• The idea of the demographic transition of longevity claims can be found in books published by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research at [5].
• Lists and further discussion of cases may be found at [6] or [7].