| Sarah Knauss | |
 Sarah Knauss at the age of 115. | |
| Birth: | 24 September 1880 Hollywood, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Death: | 30 December 1999 Pennsylvania, USA |
| Age: | 119 years, 97 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Sarah DeRemer Knauss (née Clark; 24 September 1880 - 30 December 1999) was a verified American supercentenarian. She is the longest-lived person in the history of the United States, and was the oldest in the world from 16 April 1998 until her death. She is the 2nd oldest verified person, and woman, in history, behind only Jeanne Calment .
She was born in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, a "mining patch" community that no longer exists, at a time when the now-famous Hollywood, California did not yet exist. She lived much of her life in Allentown, where she brought up her daughter Kathryn (1903-2005).
Her longevity first came to light after the death of Madame Calment in 1997, when she and Marie-Louise Meilleur were first authenticated (previously, Mary Bidwell (1881-1996) had been believed to be the oldest American).
She died rather abruptly sitting in her chair on the afternoon of 30 December 1999, survived by 5 generations of descendants. She died 33 hours before the year 2000. Some of her organs were bequeathed to the New England Centenarian Study, which did an autopsy.
Gallery
References
- Morning Call, October 9, 1986
- Morning Call, October 1, 1987
- Morning Call, September 29, 1988
- Morning Call, September 26, 1991
- Morning Call, September 30, 1993
- Morning Call, September 25, 1994
- Morning Call, September 24, 1995
- Morning Call, September 22, 1996
- Morning Call, September 25, 1997
- Morning Call, April 18, 1998
- Morning Call, September 25, 1999
- Morning Call, January 1, 2000