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The oldest person in history. Long-livers of the earth, secrets of long life

Health 10/17/2016

Dear readers, today on the blog I want to talk about the phenomenon of longevity. Gerontologists and other specialists involved in studying the capabilities of the human body claim that we live a criminally short time. The human body is programmed from birth for 100-120 years of not just existence, but active existence. That is, we live on average 30-40% less than the time allotted by nature. Why? There are many reasons, but now we will talk about them only indirectly. Using the example of unique long-lived people, we will look at what gives people the strength to go through life for so long, and often fruitfully.

Who should be considered long-livers?

Remember the old movie “The Makropoulos Remedy” based on the play by Karel Capek? The author posed a philosophical question: is immortality such a good for us, to which people sometimes carelessly strive? Well, maybe not immortality, but living for a very long time is also sometimes a heavy burden. “Old age is no joy,” people of retirement age sometimes sigh.

From the point of view of the “champions” of longevity, the world’s centenarians from the Guinness Book of Records, they are very young, but tired of life. However, there are plenty of such “old men” even among 30-year-olds. Therefore, we will talk here, first of all, not about many years to come in general, but about how individual people manage to accomplish the almost impossible: to remain at 100 years old and at a more advanced age in a clear mind and in physical health.

To begin with, it’s worth deciding who is considered long-livers?

It is generally accepted to include people over 90 years of age in this category. This figure is enshrined in the WHO classification.

I must say, there are many such people in the world. Even in our country, traditionally criticized for its low life expectancy, about 350 people have exceeded this age limit. And every year the number of “elders” continues to grow.

The second essential point: does the person have official documents confirming his date of birth. This is more difficult; after all, the world has gone through two global wars and many other cataclysms, and purely family problems sometimes lead to the loss of such papers. Therefore, there are so-called verified long-livers of the world and unofficial, speculative ones. The latter have to provide some indirect evidence of their records.

An indisputable fact: there are many more long-lived women than men. This also still baffles scientists. Although in general the life expectancy of the “stronger” sex is almost universally less than that of their beautiful halves. There are quite objective reasons for this. The main thing is the one on the surface: they more diligently shorten their lives with bad habits, and sometimes with excessive workload.

Phenomenon of the place: Japan, villages in Italy and a tribe in India

The question of how this phenomenon relates to the locality is also interesting. Why do people live much longer in some countries and certain regions than in others? Ecology, the level of medicine and social benefits, food traditions - researchers take these and many other factors into account. But these statistics do not provide accurate and comprehensive answers. The mystery still remains.

It is well known that many people of very advanced age live in mountainous regions of the planet (but not too high, where the air is already very thin). Georgia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and other territories former USSR noted for this advantage, many of the longest-livers in the world also live in Japan.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, more than 40 thousand citizens have passed the 100-year mark. The UN has predicted that by 2050, if trends continue, there will be a million centenarians in this country. This even raises concerns among those in power: the nation is aging, and the percentage of elderly Japanese in the total population is constantly increasing.

86% of age record holders are women, and Japan is no exception. If we look through the lists of official centenarians in the world, we will see many representatives of this country. Let's say Misao Okawa passed away last year at the age of 117 years and 27 days. And now living Nabi Tajima was 116 years and 72 days old on October 16, 2016.

Scientists from Italy recently published research results about the phenomenon of the inhabitants of the village of Acciaroli. 300 people there are over 100 years old. Moreover, they work and live actively, enjoying all the joys of life, including sexual ones! You can read about this in And here you can learn a lot of interesting things about how modern medicine can help everyone who seeks to extend their earthly journey.

But what scientists still cannot solve is the mystery. We will not find the names of its representatives in the rankings of the world's longest-livers in the book of records; probably, they simply have no time to deal with formalities. But, living for more than 110 years (all of them!), these natives have excellent vision, have excellent teeth without signs of caries, and generally enjoy enviable health.

The only secret that is visible to the naked eye is the dietary habits of the tribe members. They eat fruits and raw vegetables, meat is consumed only on major holidays. They prepare juices for future use and drink them at the most hard times When a new harvest or weather does not arrive, nature presents unpleasant surprises.

Another distinctive property of the Hunza is constant physical activity, hardening, brought up by the habit of swimming in cold water. 60-year-old women of the tribe calmly give birth to healthy, strong babies and live, in the full sense of the word, happily ever after. By the way, this may be the most important factor in their resilience: impenetrable optimism!

Other record-breaking countries for the number of centenarians

The same rule is also used by the world's longest-livers today who live in Abkhazia. There, the long life expectancy does not surprise anyone; almost 3% of the population have birth dates of the beginning of the last century in their passports. " Evil people“They don’t live long” - this is one of the common Abkhaz sayings.

More than 80 thousand people in the United States also belong to centenarians. Everything is different here: not brilliant environmental indicators, a high pace of existence with inevitable stress. But the country can boast quite high level life in general and medicine in particular.

The example of Cuba is even more impressive. Here, for a population of 11 million, there are 3,000 centenarians and those who have passed this age limit. Again, the secret is the close attention of the state to health issues.

Taiwan has long been considered another “hotbed of longevity.” In a small country there are more than 1,200 people aged 100 years and above. Apparently the issue here is eastern traditions nutrition and unhurried life, a philosophical attitude towards the world.

Legends of the world: undocumented “champions”

There lived such a character in China: Lee Chung-yan. He passed away in 1933 and claimed that the year of his birth was 1680, that is, he lived 253 years. He did not hide the origins of his cheerfulness: exercise stress, special breathing exercises and... oriental equanimity. “You need to keep your heart calm and sleep as if in last time“- he taught those around him.

What do they say about it historical facts? Archivists found documents where we're talking about about the congratulations of a person named Li Chung-yang by the Chinese Emperor. And the supreme ruler congratulated him on his glorious anniversaries of 150 and 200 years. Whether this is the same person or a complete namesake, a relative of a long-liver of the 20th century, remains a big question. But I really want to believe!

Other centenarians of the world called different terms: for example, the Hungarians Zoltan Petras and Petr Zortai claimed that they lived 186 and 185 years, respectively. Pakistani Mahammad Afzia - 180, as well as a number of representatives of other countries.

The Soviet Union even issued a postage stamp in honor of Mukhamed Eyvazov. He died in 1959 at the age of about 151.

Here is an instructive story from English antiquities experts. In 1935, King Charles invited the peasant Thomas Parr to London, who claimed that he was 152 years old and had outlived 9 kings. Karl did not skimp on the magnificent celebrations. But after a lavish feast, the unique guest died. It was officially announced that he suffered from pneumonia and was buried with honors in Westminster Abbey. But most scientists agree that the real reason The tragic ending was banal overeating at the royal table.

World record holders for longevity

If you look at the lists proposed by Wikipedia, they list the 100 most “long-living” inhabitants of the planet, whose proven age at the time of death exceeded 114 years. The lists of the “younger” ones, 100 years and older, are much longer.

And here we again encounter mysteries and contradictions. If somewhere decent living conditions help one to enjoy years, then how can one explain the phenomenon of Maggie Pauline Barnes, who lived 115 years 319 days (from 1882 to 1998). This is truly unique: she is the only representative of the world's centenarians who were born into slavery.

The mentioned lists and examples from the Guinness Book of Records also mention the names of American women Bessie Cooper, Elizabeth Bolden, Japanese woman Tane Ikai, representative of Ecuador Maria Capovilla and dozens of other “champions” who have crossed the line of 116-year life expectancy. And Sarah Knauss was over 119 years old at the time of her death (she is from the USA).

Japanese Tane Ikai said that her success is associated with her love for seafood, which is what she always preferred in her diet. But Canadian Maria Louise Mailer safely reached the age of 117 years and 230 days, but all her life she worked tirelessly, and in difficult conditions. Two husbands, 10 children. In addition, Maria did not refuse a glass or two of wine, and quit smoking on her 90th birthday.

There are few men in this glorious cohort. In the category of world centenarians, the Guinness Book of Records recorded the name of a Japanese man who lived just over 116 years. This is Jiroemon Kimura. Christian Mortensen, a Dane who emigrated to the United States, enjoyed life for 115 years and 252 days. Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro is also among the record holders with a total of 115 years 163 days. There are several “junior” champions.

Jeanne Calment: the fierce Frenchwoman

For many years, the list of the longest-living people in the world was headed by Jeanne-Louise Calment with a phenomenal result of 122 years and 164 days (1875–1997). Just imagine: she could see the first flight of the Wright brothers, survived two world wars and a bunch of other significant events in world history.

I suggest watching a video about her and the Top 10 centenarians of our planet.

It turns out that her recipe for success is constant physical activity. A bicycle, and not a recreational one, she was almost a pro in racing! And at the age of 85, she learned to fence decently. Until her last days, she had a clear mind and memory, and had an excellent sense of humor. And a taste for good clothes!

Louise Kalman explained her record by her ability to follow simple rule: “When problems cannot be solved, there is no need to worry.”

By the way, the frantic Frenchwoman did not eat nectar and ambrosia at all. Do you know when she denied herself the pleasure of drinking a glass of port every day? At 117 years old! One unlucky notary decided to “bless” 92-year-old Jeanne-Louise by undertaking to pay her a life annuity. She lived for another 30 years, long outliving the notary who never came to see her modest apartment.

Antisa Khvichava: an example of hard work

But who should be considered the officially recognized longest-living person in the world in all of history, at least modern history? This is Antisa Khvichava, an ordinary Georgian woman, just shy of 133 years old. She worked on tea plantations for 85 years.

There are documents confirming the authenticity of her birth in 1880. This was recognized by specialists from the Guinness Book of Records, who issued the Georgian a corresponding certificate.

Antisa Khvichava was illiterate, so she did not undertake to tell the numerous guests anything about the origins of her uniqueness. But she was interested in the latest science and wanted to learn how to use a computer. Her liveliness of mind and natural curiosity remained with her until her last breath.

What do scientists know about the secret of longevity?

Let's try to sum up some results. Who are they, the long-livers of the world: self-made people or lucky ones, darlings of fate?

Of course, a lot is being done in terms of general development healthcare, increasing the life expectancy of entire countries and peoples. Infant mortality rates are decreasing, and a lot has been done in terms of searching for new methods of treating oncology and diseases of the cardiovascular system. But they still claim the most human lives, adding their black edits to the statistics.

University of California anatomy professor Leonard Hayflick discovered an interesting pattern: human life expectancy and the ratio of brain weight to body weight are proportionally related. The more private it is, the longer life is. According to him, aging begins when we stop growing. In fact, from about 30 years old, or even earlier. But sharks, Galapagos turtles and a number of other creatures age very slowly, since almost all their lives they grow slightly in size.

Paracelsus, meanwhile, was confident that a person could live 600 years. His Russian colleagues Ilya Mechnikov and Alexander Bogomolets gave us a term of 160 years.

We can say that the process is influenced by heredity, and this is partly true. Ecology, nutrition, healthy lifestyle - all these are influencing factors. But even from the above examples it is clear that “our” centenarians were not angelic creatures. Some drank, by the way, some, even quite decently, others smoked or even smoked recklessly, and still others abused coffee.

The Irish landowner Brown, who is believed to have lived to be 120 years old, bequeathed a tombstone inscription for himself. Here is her text: “He was always drunk and so terrible in this state that death itself was afraid of him.”

Here are thoughts for all of us... But there is, after all, one thing in common that unites all the centenarians of the world - this is an inexhaustible love of life and optimism. They lived long because they sincerely loved life. And she reciprocated.

I wish us all good health, simple joys life. We all have something to learn from long-livers: the same positivity, hard work and a calmer attitude towards stress.

And for the soul we will listen today Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Piano Concerto No. 23 , A major, 2nd movement Adagio. Piano: Vladimir Horowitz. Listen to such wonderful music more often. Mozart is light, purity and simply spiritual joy.

10. Christian Mortensen (1882-1998)

Danish-American centenarian Christian Mortensen, who lived 115 years, 252 days, is considered the oldest man on record. He was born on August 16, 1882 and died on April 25, 1998.

Mortenson is unusual not only because he was a man (only 9.8 percent of verified supercentenarians are men), but also because he smoked several cigars a week during the 95 years of his life. He was also single for most of his life, which usually has a negative impact on longevity. But Mortenson became an exception to the rule here, having been married for only 10 years.

This amazing man immigrated to America in 1903, where he worked as a tailor and milkman. So what is the secret of longevity, according to Mortenson himself? “Friends, good cigars, drinking plenty of good water, abstaining from alcohol, an optimistic outlook on life and singing will provide you long life", he asserted.

9. Maggie Pauline Barnes (1882 -1998)

Maggie Pauline Barnes was born into slavery on March 6, 1882. She died on January 19, 1998 at the age of 115 years and 319 days. Although little is known about her, her age alone suggests amazing life. Not only did Maggie endure the hardships of slavery in the United States, but she also outlived 11 of her 15 children.

The woman died from complications caused by a minor infection in her leg. Her story is all the more amazing because at the beginning of the 20th century, the average life expectancy was 47 years for representatives of the white Caucasian race and 40-42 years for African Americans. And although this gap is increasingly narrowing, Bruns has done the impossible by living 75 years longer average duration life.

8. Bessie Cooper (1896 -)

Bessie Cooper was born on August 26, 1896. She recently celebrated her 116th birthday, becoming the oldest living person in the world. When asked the secret to her long life, she replied, “I don’t pry into other people’s business,” and added, “And I don’t eat junk food.”

Bessie's life spans three centuries, she lived through two world wars and many other historical events.

Cooper worked as a school teacher, and after the death of her husband at the age of 68, she lived alone on family farm. At 105, she moved into a nursing home.

7. Elizabeth Bolden (1890 - 2006)

Elizabeth Bolden lived from August 15, 1890 to December 11, 2006. At the time of death she was 116 years 118 days old.

She was born into a family of freed slaves in Tennessee, USA, and her life was not easy. Her longevity genes were apparently not passed on to her children, and only two of Elizabeth's seven children were alive at the time of her death. And yet, one of her descendants may be able to put new record longevity. When she died, she left behind more than 500 direct descendants, including 75 great-great-great-great grandchildren.

Although Boden herself hasn't spoken much since her stroke in 2004, she happily celebrated her 116th birthday by trying two of her favorite treats: ice cream and candy.

6. Tain Ikai (1879 -1995)

With an incredible lifespan of 116 years 175 days, Tein Ikai is both the oldest confirmed specimen in Japan and Asia. The woman was born on January 18, 1879 into a family of farmers in the city of Kansei in Japan. She married at age 20 and had 4 children, whom she outlived by the time of her death on July 12, 1995.

Thane enjoyed making embroidery and ceramics. She ate mostly rice porridge, which, combined with a traditional Japanese diet, may have helped protect her from heart disease and cancer.

An autopsy after her death revealed that the centenarian died of kidney failure. So far, she is the only supercentenarian who has undergone an autopsy.

5. Maria Capovilla (1889 - 2006)

Ecuadorian centenarian Maria Capovilla was born on September 14, 1889, the same year the Eiffel Tower was unveiled to the public. Having lived 347 days to 116 years, she became the oldest South American woman in history, as well as the longest living person in history. southern hemisphere. Capovilla died on August 27, 2006, just under a month shy of her 117th birthday.

She was the picture of health and energy almost until the end of her life, although she drank a little alcohol, but never smoked. She was born into the family of a colonel and lived among the elite of Ecuador, and in 1917 she married an officer, Italian by birth, Antonio Capovilla.

When she was 99 years old, she suddenly fell ill and was practically buried in catholic church. But she survived, and after that she walked without a cane, read newspapers, watched TV and was in good health. Three of her five children were alive at the time of her death, and they were 78, 80 and 81 years old.

4. Maria Louise Mailer (1880 – 1998)

Marie Louise Mailer was 117 years 230 days old when she died on April 16, 1998. Interestingly, at the time of her death, one of her sons lived in the same nursing home as herself, and her daughter was 90 years old.

The French-Canadian centenarian was born in Quebec, Canada on August 29, 1880. Her first husband died of pneumonia when she was 30 years old. Mailer then moved to the Quebec-Ontario border, where she met her second husband, Hector Mailer.

The woman believed that her longevity was due to hard work and this is not surprising, given that she had 10 children and two marriages. The centenarian also liked to occasionally drink a glass of wine, and quit smoking when she was 90 years old, 27 years before her death.

3. Lucy Hannah (1875 -1993)

Lucy Hannah was never awarded the title of oldest person in history, simply because she lived at the same time as Jeanne Calment, who received this title.

Despite this, Hannah lived to a ripe 117 years and 248 days and is the oldest African American woman and the third oldest person in history.

She was born in Alabama in the USA on July 16, 1875. In 1901 she married John Hannah and had 8 children, 6 of whom she survived. Two of Hannah's sisters lived to be 100 years old, and her mother lived to be 99 years old.

2. Sarah Knauss (1880 -1999)

Sarah Knauss is the second oldest person in history. She died at the age of 119 years 97 days. This amazing woman was born on September 24, 1880 and died on December 30, 1999, just a few days shy of the 21st century. Obviously this didn't bother Sarah at all. When she was told that she had become the oldest person in the world, she replied: “So what.”

Her daughters described their mother as incredibly calm, undisturbed by anything. Perhaps this was the secret of her long life, since excessive stress negatively affects human health.

Knauss survived 7 American wars, the Great Depression and the death of her husband after 64 years of marriage. At the time of her death, she was already older than the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty in the United States.

1. Jeanne Kalman (1875 – 1997)

Jeanne Kalment is the oldest person who has ever lived on Earth, and so far no one has been able to beat her record of 122 years 164 days. She was born in Arles, France on February 21, 1875 and died on August 4, 1997. During her life, she witnessed the invention of the automobile, cinema, stainless steel, television and airplanes.

Surprisingly, she even met Vincent van Gogh when she was 13, whom she described as "dirty, unkempt and scowling."

Kalman, like Sarah Knauss, had “immunity to stress.” She could also boast of wit and at every birthday she announced a new secret to longevity.

The centenarian rode a bicycle and drank port until she was 100 years old, and also smoked almost until she died. She claimed that laughter, physical activity and a strong stomach helped her live to an old age. And her best advice was, “If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry.”

In contact with

In Asia they found a man who claims to be oldest resident Earth. According to official documents, a man named Mbah Goto from the island of Java in Indonesia was allegedly born in the century before last, he is 145 years old, and he is the same age as Vladimir Lenin.

According to the BBC, Goto's passport shows the date of birth as December 31, 1870. However, Goto’s original documents were lost long ago, and he was given a new passport based on his own statements. Therefore, experts cannot assign the Indonesian the official title of the oldest inhabitant of the planet.

Local authorities claim that the elder is not lying, but dates of birth in Indonesia began to be officially recorded only in 1900, and errors in numbers have already occurred before. “Grandfather may simply be making a mistake without malicious intent; it is possible that due to his advanced age (and he, indeed, looks more than a hundred years old) he simply forgot the date of his birth. This has already happened to other centenarians. It is beneficial for officials to support the legend of a supercentenarian in order to attract attention, and therefore tourists and money. In fact, people don’t live that long, it’s the stuff of fantasy,” record expert Vadim Maksimenko told us.

The secret is patience

According to Goto, he outlived 10 brothers and sisters and buried four wives, the last of whom died about thirty years ago. The Indonesian's children also died long ago. Goto is cared for by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Without outside help he can neither eat, nor drink, nor walk. He listens to the radio almost all the time. In his youth, the centenarian earned his living by farming and fishing.

“Grandfather is unpretentious in everyday life, does not require anything special from food or any special conditions for life. True, he continues to smoke, smokes like a steam locomotive,” the great-grandson of the Indonesian, Suryanto, told reporters. - The secret of his longevity is patience. There is a saying in Indonesia: “Patient people will live long lives.”

Goto himself admits that a quarter of a century ago he began to prepare for death and ordered a tombstone for his own grave. “The only thing I want now is to die. But, apparently, the time has not come yet,” admits the centenarian. The scientific community received the news about 145-year-old Goto with skepticism, just as it did news about an allegedly 171-year-old resident of Nigeria and a 163-year-old resident of Ethiopia, whose dates of birth were also not documented.

The oldest inhabitants of the Earth

Meanwhile, the official title of the oldest inhabitant of the planet still remains with 122-year-old Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died 19 years ago. During her lifetime, two world wars took place, the first man flew into space and the Internet was invented.

And the other day, at the 120th year of her life, the Chinese woman Fu Suqing, who was considered the oldest inhabitant of the Earth at that moment, died. The woman is survived by almost 70 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Of the living centenarians, Holocaust survivor 112-year-old Israel Crystal from Israel is recognized as the oldest.

Documents were found in Polish archives that he lived in the city of Lodz in 1918, and at that time he was 15 years old. Crystal was born on September 15, 1903 in Zarnow, which was located on the territory of the then Russian Empire, then his family moved to Lodz, where Israel began working in a confectionery factory. During the Nazi occupation, he and his wife were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Crystal's wife died. By the end of the war he weighed about 37 kilograms. Then Crystal settled in Israel, where he opened a candy store and married again.

Ukrainian Grigory Nestor lived to be 116 years old. Photo: UNIAN

Long life has always attracted the attention of mankind. Just remember the attempts to create the philosopher's stone, one of the functions of which was supposed to be immortality. And even in modern times, there are a lot of diets, recommendations about life and numerous pseudo-secrets that supposedly will allow a person to live longer than his fellow tribesmen. However, no one has yet been able to guarantee an increase, which is why people are curious about those who have managed to do it.

Let's define it in terms

First of all, we need to figure out who should be classified as “Centenarians of the Planet”. The most common definition is those whose age has exceeded 90 years. In this case, there are quite a lot of these people. There are about 350 thousand of them in Russia alone. Some sources suggest that those who have already celebrated their centenary anniversary be considered centenarians. And this is also not a record - there are almost seven thousand such people among Russians.

The second difficulty: who to believe and how to check. Anyone can claim that they turned, say, 150, and do so quite convincingly, if they know history well native land. So the planet’s centenarians are conditionally divided into two groups: verified (that is, those whose age is documented) and presumptive - those who cannot accurately prove their date of birth.

And the third problem: to choose a winner from those who are still alive, or to take into account everyone who has crossed the 110-year mark? After all, many of the planet’s long-livers, the list of which is not so short, still managed to die.

Official record holder

A proven winner who lived until 2012 was Georgian Khvichava, who fell just shy of 133 years old. Documents confirming her birth in 1880 were found to be authentic, so this is the same an old man(woman) was awarded an entry in the Guinness Book of Records and received a corresponding certificate. It is noteworthy that Khvichava before last day kept her mind alert. Despite the fact that all of her seniority was associated with agriculture, she was invariably interested in cutting-edge innovations: shortly before her death, she wanted her relatives to teach her how to communicate with a computer. It can be said that on this moment This is the oldest centenarian on the planet. No one has yet broken the record for the duration of earthly existence.

Second winner

And this is also a woman. She died even before Khvichava, in 1997, but until that time she confidently held the lead. This time the former was born in France, five years earlier than the Georgian, but, alas, she died, nine years short of the next record. Her life span was limited to 122 and a half years. The name on the list of “Centenarians of the Planet” was also noted for its irrepressible sense of humor, demonstrated until the last day. In addition, the Frenchwoman was simply a volcano of energy: at 85 she began fencing seriously, at 100 she became interested in cycling, almost professionally.

Most common age

In the summer of 2013, another one of those who are called the planet’s centenarians died. He lived to be 115 years old, a Japanese man from Kamiukawa named Jiroemon Kimura. He received the title of winner in 2012 due to the fact that there are no older people left in the world with proof of their age. Recipes for long-livers, it must be said, are varied. If for Zhanna it was cheerfulness and activity, then for Kimura it was primarily a moderate and balanced diet.

By the way, the previous record holder, Christian Mortensen, a Dane by birth and an American by nationality, lived the same number of years (115). His contribution to recipes for long-livers is the absence of red meat, a large number of fish, optimism, friends and singing.

115 seems to be the most popular age for long-lived people. The Puerto Rican del Toro also lived up to these years and was also among the record holders. But at the moment, no one has yet reached this milestone, so now the oldest is again considered to be the Japanese Tomoji Tanabe, born in 1895. However, he doesn’t have much time left until the cherished date.

general Statistics

Noteworthy is the fact that there are much more long-lived women than men. Thus, in 2007, 84 people were officially registered in the world who were over 110 years old, and only nine of them were male.

There are almost two hundred thousand of those who are over 100 but under 110 years old in the world, and the gender ratio is again not in favor of men, although not so depressing.

Japan and mountainous countries, including Abkhazia, Georgia, Circassia, and Azerbaijan, produce a lot of long-livers. In Karachaevsk, a club called the “Society of Centennial Anniversaries” has even been created, which includes eight members, the youngest of whom is 104 years old. And in Japan there are more than 28 thousand people over 100, and this figure is growing every year.

Unofficial centenarians

However, so far we have listed those who, without any doubt, were able to prove their age. This list does not include other “very, very best” - long-livers of the planet who did not have the opportunity to prove this for very objective reasons: wars, destroyed churches with records of newborns, small villages where there were no literate people... However, the likelihood of their stated age matching is actually quite high. Therefore, it is still worth mentioning the Hungarians Petridge and Zortai, who lived 186 and 185 years, respectively, the Ossetian Tense Abzive, who reached 180, the Albanian Hanjer, who died at the age of 170, and the Pakistani Sayyad Mabud, who was only a year short of reaching 160.

Absolute record

If you do not demand absolutely accurate evidence from the applicant for the title, then the oldest centenarian on the planet has already been unambiguously established. The record belongs to a Chinese named Li Ching-Yun, who died in 1933. He himself considered the year of his birth to be 1736, that is, at the time of his death he was 197 years old. However, this age was refuted, and, oddly enough, to a greater extent. University professor Wu Changshin discovered documents indicating the birth of Li back in 1677. Moreover, reliable, documented data has been preserved about the congratulations of this man by the Chinese emperor, and they related to his 150 and 200 anniversary anniversaries. Such double confirmation requires painstaking research, so Lee’s title in the “Long-Livers of the Planet” category has not yet been proven, but neither has it been refuted.

Mysterious country

However, this is not the only and not the biggest mystery regarding the lifespan of individual representatives of humanity. For decades now, scientists have been haunted by the mystery of the Indian Hunza tribe. Its members do not get sick, do not suffer from caries, have excellent vision and live more than 110 years, all of them. And this despite the fact that neighboring tribes have a full range of all modern (and even forgotten by civilization) diseases, and the average does not even reach 60. The Hunza have their own recipes for long-livers: meat - only on holidays, vegetables - raw, and a lot of fruits . The main thing in these nutritional principles is to never deviate from them. Even in the spring, in the absence of fresh fruit, they do not deviate from their chosen path. Instead of breakfast-lunch-dinner during these difficult months, the Hunza drink a glass of juice from fruits harvested last summer once a day.

Perhaps the reasons for the longevity and relative youth of this people include their habit of swimming in icy water, as well as extreme physical activity. As a result, Hunza women over 60 give birth to healthy, viable offspring. Researchers have also noted the high natural cheerfulness of the Hunza, who attribute a significant part of their longevity to it.

Scientists have not figured out why some are different. There are no recipes for longevity that apply to everyone: some indulged in bad habits, some ate only fish or fruits, some active life, and someone allowed themselves to be lazy... The only one common feature All centenarians have optimism and cheerfulness. Maybe this is the treasured philosopher's stone?

How long did people who actually lived live?documented centenarians?

Our list of long-livers deservedly tops legendary personality Ancient China, the supposed creator of the world, who, according to legend, grew 3 meters per day and lived to be 18 thousand years old. His name was Pan Ku.

Methuselah himself lived 969 years.

Adam allegedly lived for 930 years.

The Illyrian Dandon lived 500 years.

Nestor is 300 years old, which he owes to Apollo.

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu lived for 200 years. There are still data that are difficult to verify.

Hungarian resident Charten lived 185 years

185 years old - man named Kitaki from Iran

182 years old - a certain Solis from Colombia.

180 years old - Mr. Yorath, subject of Her Majesty the Queen of England.

His faithful wife Murphy Yorath lived for 177 years.

168 years old - Shirali Muslimov from Russia.

167 years old - funny man Pereira from Colombia.

159 - Pakistani Sayaz Abdul Mabud.

The famous centenarian Thomas Parr from England lived 152 years and 9 months.

150 years old - Morsi Suleiman Daoud.

139 - Kitako Kingamkono from Tanzania.

137 - Namkaso from Tahiti.

135 - Nefisa Abdalah from Egypt.

12 1 year - Mary Duckworth from the USA.

120 - Jose Lawrence Fsrreira from England.

112 years old - virgin Suzanne Ferreira from the USA.

Mustafa Buhamedien from Bukhara celebrated his 105th birthday in 1983. That same year, he visited a doctor for the first time to obtain a certificate... for the police, that he could drive a car.

The Illyrian Dandon supposedly lived 500 years.

Zoltan Petraj, 186 years old, died in Hungary in 1724. Ages over 120 years are usually recorded based on the person's personal statement and the testimony of others and are not always confirmed by actual documentation.

History knows many examples of amazing longevity. Scottish fisherman Henry Jenkins (1501-1670) lived 169 years and died in Yorkshire. From English court records it is known that in 1665 he was a witness at the trial in a case 140 years ago. One of his sons lived to be 109 years old, the other to 113. Turkish woman Fatma Khanum lived to be 164 years old. Hungarian Janos Roven lived to be 172 years old, his wife to 164. They lived in marriage for 117 years, their youngest son was 116 years old. The Englishman Thomas Parr, a tenant farmer, lived 152 years and 9 months (1483-1635), was married twice (the first time at 80 years old), entered into a second marriage at 120 years old, and had a son who lived to be 123 years old. At the age of 105, he was subjected to church repentance for illegal cohabitation, and in September 1635 he was invited to dinner with Charles I. The king decided to get acquainted with the English “wonder of the world,” but this ruined the venerable old man. According to some, he could not stand the damp London weather, others are inclined to think that Thomas simply overate.

His death occurred from random cause, and all organs turned out to be healthy according to the testimony of the famous English doctor William Harvey who performed the autopsy. In the protocol, Harvey noted that the body of the deceased was muscular, no abnormalities were found in the digestive organs, there were no stones in the kidneys and liver, and if the old man had remained on his usual diet, he could have lived for some more time. Thomas Parr was buried in Westminster Abbey, where his ashes rest outstanding people England. Thomas Parr outlived 10 English kings and lived from the 15th to the 17th centuries.

The English postal worker Robert Taylor, at the age of 133, received a portrait of Queen Victoria with the inscription: “A gift from Queen Victoria to R. Taylor in memory of his deep and unheard of old age.” This gift excited the old man so much that he soon died.

One of the oldest people in our country was Yegor Koroev in Georgia, he lived 157 years, participated in wars and was engaged in physical labor all his life. Azerbaijani collective farmer Mahmud Eyvazov lived 152 years. His work experience was 133 years. At the age of 163, Shirali Muslimov (1805-1973) made the first air trip in his life, and he lived only 169 years. Pomor K. G. Popov fished in the Sea of Okhotsk for 11 years. Arzhgiri Khazitov and Tepse Abzieva lived in our country for 180 years. But the record of longevity is retained by the Englishman Thomas Carne, who, according to records in church books, lived 207 years, who was born in 1588 and happily outlived 12 kings, the oldest person in recent times (1980-1985) was considered the Iranian Said Abu Taleb Mosavi, he is 190 years old. His wife is 105 years old (this is his 5th marriage). A Japanese monk supposedly lived 250 years, and this is recorded in church books.

The most reliable is the case of the Dane Christen Jacobsen Drakenberg, who died at the age of 146.

Among the modern ones, the most famous is the example of the Turk Zaro Agha (1778-1934), who, according to his own statements and some unofficial documents, lived to be 156 years old. It is difficult to establish his exact age, but comparing his age with the ages of his children, one could assume that he really lived that long.

Thus, one of his sons died in 1918 at the age of 90, while Zaro Aga himself died 16 years later. Zaro Aga was born in the village, was married 13 times, had 25 children and 34 grandchildren. He led a quiet lifestyle, smoked a little, drank soft drinks, ate a lot of bread, curdled milk, sweets and little meat. He was sanguine and cheerful, but his development was slightly below average. He died in hospital from uremic coma as a result of prostate hypertrophy.

According to the latest data, the Irish woman Katherine Plunkett, an old maid who lived to 111 years and 10 months, actually achieved maximum longevity.

Most recently, the Portuguese shepherd Nunes Jose, who was considered one of the oldest people in Western Europe, died at the age of 120.

Manuel Peñarda from Bolivia was born in La Paz 153 years ago. At least that's what it says in her metrics. It is for this reason that Manuela is considered the “number one” long-liver on the planet. Recently, Bolivian television organized a program with her participation; a special commission wants to once again check the authenticity of the old woman’s documents certifying “overcoming” the sesquicentennial milestone.

An example is the oldest inhabitant of the planet, Jeanne Calment (France), who recently died at the age of 122 years of “natural death,” according to doctors. She was born in 1875, led a quiet, moderate life, and did not overeat. Even at the age of 100, she rode a bicycle and maintained a clear head until the end of her life. Her intelligence level at 120 years old was comparable to that of an older woman.

In 1963, Mahmoud Varan died in Damascus at the age of 163. At that time he was considered the oldest inhabitant of Syria. It is known that the Kenyan Matayo Achungo was well known throughout Africa. He died in 1976 at the age of 132, and was mourned by dozens of children and 125 grandchildren. And the Iranian Mohamed Ayubu had 170 grandchildren, and in 1970 they claimed that he was the oldest person on Earth because he was 180 years old.

The previous world champion in longevity, Japanese Shiketio Izumi, died after living 120 years and 237 days. Literary sources cite cases of even higher life expectancy, such as the Azerbaijani Shirali Muslimov, who lived for almost 168 years (1805-1973). This man was a shepherd and worked all his life outdoors in the high mountain village of Tikeband, Lerik region.

In Guizhou province, 147-year-old Gong Life, the oldest centenarian in China and possibly the world, died of hepatitis. Gun lived his entire life as a bachelor, never drank or smoked, ate rice and corn twice a day (“Trud”, 04/04/1993)

In 1999, it was reported that the oldest person on earth lives in Africa - a woman who is 146 years old.

In May 2000, it was announced that a 150-year-old woman had died in Arkansas (USA).

In the literature one can find many more examples of rare longevity. The oldest inhabitant of the planet today is the Japanese woman Kamato Hongo.

In mid-September 2002, she celebrated her 115th birthday. Back in March 2002, the Guinness Book of Records listed a completely different name - the American Maud Farris-Loose, who died in her home state of Michigan at the age of 122.

The official title of the oldest man on Earth again belongs to Japan, or rather to its 113-year-old citizen, Yukichi Chuganzi. However, his primacy is disputed by the Jordanian Fankhir Ziyad Al-Fawaz, whose relatives claim that he is already 125 years old. To date, the highest documented age is 121 years, this is the age of the French woman Mrs. Jeannette Calmin. It is possible that the name of Pelageya Zakurdaeva from Altai will be entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest inhabitant of the planet. On June 6, 2002, she turned 116 years old. She lives in the city of Zarinsk, Altai Territory.

The list of published longevity records can be continued indefinitely, but a rather funny phenomenon should be taken into account. People mature age, especially women, tend to underestimate their age, and old men tend to exaggerate (old men more often exaggerate their age). Respectable age is called such because it has a certain social weight in the eyes of others.

Currently, information and factual material are being collected, observations and research are being conducted on this issue. There are areas on earth that are most favorable for longevity, where people live much longer and remain more energetic and vital in old age than in most developed countries. The most famous of these places are located in the middle mountains. For example, the village of Vilcabamba in the Andes (Ecuador), Mountain country Hunza (Pakistan) with a population of about 40 thousand, located on the Karakoram range in Kashmir on the border with China and Afghanistan. In the province of Hunza, people do not know many “diseases of civilization” and are in good health. With constant monitoring of them for 14 years, not a single case of the disease was identified, although Pakistanis living nearby often got sick.

The regions with the highest level of longevity also include the Transcaucasus (Azerbaijan - Nagorno-Karabakh), the North Caucasus (Abkhazia and South Ossetia), some regions of Siberia and Central Asia. However, there are long-livers in other geographical areas, for example, in Bashkortostan.

On this occasion, back in 1960, the republican newspaper “Soviet Bashkiria” published an article entitled “Centenarians of Bashkiria.” There, in particular, it is written that on the initiative of the assistant of the Department of Social Hygiene and Health Organization of the Belarusian State Medical Institute N.S. Makhmutzyanova conducted a study of elderly people. The sources for the study were lists of voters who participated in elections to local bodies of Soviet power on February 22, 1953, presented by district and city Councils of Workers' Deputies in the 61st rural district and seven cities of republican subordination. 86,407 people over the age of 70 were registered, of which 1,951 people were aged from 90 to 99 years and 135 people were aged 100 years and older. Unfortunately, the results of this study have not been fully published.

Until 1966, the newspaper “Soviet Bashkiria” informed its readers about the long-livers of the republic. She covered everyday interests, lifestyle and the reasons for their longevity. The article by S. Erikeeva “Long-livers of Meleuz” describes in detail life path the oldest resident of the republic, mother of twelve children, 109-year-old Guleysha Kutluakhmetovna Tabaeva. In 1966, the newspaper also spoke in detail about the long-livers of the republic: Mukminova Asmabike - 106 years old and Yushkov Evdokim Nikiforovich - 103 years old, natives of the Baymak region.

In principle, people of respectable age are found everywhere where the habitat has been preserved in at least relative purity - water, land and air, where there is a calm and measured way of life, moderation and simplicity in diet and the absence of bad habits.

Researchers of the essence of human longevity have put forward many hypotheses that converge on a set of common reasons: the characteristics of a person’s personality, climatic conditions the area where he lives, the nature of his work and life, the characteristics of relationships, the style of communication with others, heredity.

Nowadays, many elderly people live in the Republic of Bashkortostan. According to the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Belarus, in 2001, within the republic there were 9,190 people aged 90 years and older, including 475 people aged 100 years or more. Longevity indicators for age and sex groups and areas with higher and lower longevity data in the republic are presented in the table.

Significant differences in the number of centenarians have been identified among men and women. The total number of male centenarians in 2001 in the Republic of Bashkortostan as a whole was 1,138 people, and among women - 8,052 people. Higher rates of longevity among women than among men were observed among both urban and rural populations in all areas without exception. A higher number of centenarians has been established among the urban population. Of the 9,190 centenarians of the republic, 4,159 (45,261 live in rural areas; 5,031 (54.74%) live in cities and towns. 1,138 (12.38%) are male centenarians, of which 453 (39.8%) live in rural areas ), in cities and urban-type settlements - 685 (60.2%), long-lived women - 8052 (87.629, of which 3706 (46.03%) live in rural areas, in cities and urban-type settlements - 4346 (53.97 %).

The rural areas of the republic stand out for their high longevity indices - Ilishevsky, Miyakinsky, Kushnarenkovsky, Buraevsky, Aurgazinsky, Chekmagushevsky, Buzdyasky, Sharansky, Bakalinsky, Nurimanovsky and others. It is in these regions that almost all long-lived areas are located, and here there is a kind of “peak” of longevity - over 100 years: in Ilishevsky - 6, Miyakinsky - 7, Kushnarenkovsky - 4, Buraevsky - 6, Aurgazinsky - 5, Chekmagushevsky - 7, Buzdyaksky - 4, Sharansky - 4, Bakalinsky - 4, Nurimanovsky - 1 person.

In 2001, 475 people aged 100 years and older were registered in the republic, which amounted to only 5.17% of all long-term residents of the Republic of Bashkortostan, or per 100,000 population there is an average of 11.6 people who have reached the age of 100. Of these, 81 people belong to the rural population and 394 to the urban population; by gender: 93 men and 382 women.

Muhammad Eyvazov was 148 years old and in 1956 a postage stamp was issued in honor of this, Shirali Muslimov was 168 years old and, by 1978, Majid Agayev was 143 years old and Afruz Hasanova was 135 years old. According to official data in the USSR in 1970-1980. There were about 30 thousand people over 100 years of age.

Among those who have long crossed the 80- and even 90-year-old mark and at this age remained a world leader in their profession, one can cite the names of such long-lived giants as: Hippocrates, Titian, Janacek, Plato, Sophocles, Confucius, Ho Chi Minh , Korzhik, Jahir, Shvabinekiy, Hussein J., Grus, Newton, Shaw, Cuba, Edison, Miro, Bezruch, Pavlov, Schweitzer, Kubin, Tolstoy, Verdi, Michelangelo, Chaplin, Qi Bai Shi, Voltaire, Goethe, Casals, Stravinsky , Rubinstein, Kovarzyk, Kohout E., Stech V.

Some researchers believe that life expectancy supposedly increases by a year every 10 thousand years. Over the past 100 thousand years, it has become a little larger thanks to the development of thinking and speech, and most importantly, thanks to polygamy (Yaroslav Govorka, The Road to Longevity, Moscow, 1990).

In 1972, Dr. Alex Comfort, the famous gerontologist, better known, however, as the author of The Joy of Sex, stated at a meeting of the American Gerontological Society: “I am confident that ways to slow down and reverse the aging process will soon be found.” And a year later he said: “If it were possible to mobilize the scientific and medical reserves of the United States of America alone, then old age would be over in just ten years.”

This may seem like unjustified optimism. But here is one example of assessing the progress of medicine and related technical sciences over the past few decades, given by the French philosopher and physician Jean Bernard. According to Bernard, if a doctor were to fall asleep in 1900 and wake up 30 years later, he, in all likelihood, could almost immediately return to the interrupted medical practice - so little has changed. But if he had fallen asleep in 1930 and woke up in 1960, he would have been unable to figure anything out and would have been out of work. In three decades, medicine has made such a giant leap forward that a doctor at the turn of the century would have been worse able to treat patients than most modern first-year students. Suffice it to say that in 1930 there were no antibiotics to treat diseases such as syphilis, pneumonia, scarlet fever and meningitis, to name just a few. And in less than the next two decades, the development of medical science and technology proceeded at an even faster pace. Particular advances have been made in the treatment of diseases associated with aging: hypertension, glaucoma, arthritis, cataracts and heart failure. In areas where only a few years ago there was no treatment at all, successful methods of disease control have now become commonplace.

Life expectancy is clearly influenced by two factors: heredity and environment. You don't have to be born into a family of long-livers to live a long time, but it's still not bad. People with long-lived ancestors have lower mortality rates at any given age and are more likely to live to age 80 and beyond. However, heredity is not everything. As Alex Comfort writes, human longevity is “inherited” in the sense that it is akin to a certain family tradition... There is a definite connection between the age to which parents lived and the likelihood of life expectancy of their children. “However, this relationship is not as natural as, for example, in relation to growth.” According to Comfort's observations, children of centenarians have less chance of long life than children of lanky parents who are tall.

Heredity is responsible for about 2,000 diseases and defects, including some forms of blindness and deafness, mental retardation, hemophilia and metabolic disorders. But such diseases are statistically insignificant as a cause of death. According to Galton, "if any serious illnesses and are inherited, all of them are rare. Heredity usually predisposes to diseases, but does not make the disease inevitable.”

As you know, we don’t choose our parents and everything they pass on to us. As for the second factor - our environment, we can control it to a certain extent. We can try to change our environment so that the traits we have inherited develop in a more favorable environment.

In 1973, the National Center for Health Statistics of the US Department of Health published a table showing how long we could live if the main “killers” of humanity were eliminated. If we deal with cardiovascular diseases, we will gain an average of 17.5 years of life. If in our country (USA) the incidence of cancer were reduced by 80%, then another 2.5 years would be added to our life. If we manage to sharply reduce the number of deaths from accidents, murders, suicides, cirrhosis of the liver, influenza and diabetes, we can add another 2.5 years to these figures. By destroying all the “eaters” of life, most of which we impose on ourselves through our ugly lifestyle or treatment of the environment, we could extend the life of each person by an average of 22.5 years: men would live to an average of 92.5, and women up to 97.5 years old. And this can largely be achieved without the invention of any new drugs, procedures or technical innovations in medicine. Most of these influences are entirely subordinate, being merely a function of man's daily habits, as a review of them will clearly show.

Possible increase in life expectancy when the cause of death is eliminated

Cause of death	Number of years
Major cardiovascular diseases
Heart diseases
Vascular diseases that damage the central nervous system
Malignant formations
Accidents (except car accidents)
Car accidents
Flu and pneumonia
Infectious diseases (except tuberculosis)
Diabetes
Tuberculosis

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