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An end to an era is quickly approaching and unfortunately many of us are totally unaware. Soon there will be no single human being alive that was born in the 1800's. All of the remaining living people that were born in the 1800’s are more than 112 years old now and known as Supercentenarians (someone who has reached the age of 110 years.)

Currently there are only 25 verified living people (a complete list can be found here) who were born in the 1800's. Additionally, there are 46 other verified supercentenarians that were not born in the 1800’s for a total of 71 living supercentenarians. They're the last of a very special era, the last of a dying breed.

Suffice it to say they’re marvels, living legends. Of course these remaining 28 are only the ones that have come forward and have been fully documented and supplied 3 verifiable forms of identification to assure they’re as old as they state. There are others whom have not been completely verified yet and others who will never come forward. All we can do is list and report on the ones that have been verified.

These super centenarians were born during rapidly changing times and lived through many thousands of technological advancements. Many of these super centenarians survived times of horrific diseases which are so easily preventable and curable in today’s modern world. It was a much simpler time and a very different world back then.

The oldest of these remaining supercentenarians is Besse Cooper who is over 115 years old and the youngest of which is Grace Jones at 112. It's extremely sad to see the last of these rare individuals born in the 1800's coming to an end. It reminds all of us of our own immortality. These are indeed rare and exceptional people, born before automobiles and many modern conveniences that we take so for granted today.

These stalwart super centenarians have outlived many of their friends and loved ones, not to mention the staggering odds they have overcome to achieve such a long life. They have survived and lived in 3 different centuries, the 19th, 20th and now the 21st century. Their own stories and life lessons will be lost forever when they pass on.

How did these unique individuals achieve such a long life span? Is it the country they were born and lived in? Is it their diet? Is it the amount of exercise or physical labor they endured? Or is it simply genetics? These questions plague many longevity experts today. There are many different opinions on why someone lives so much longer than the average life span.

We hope it will still be many years to come before the end of this era. We hope that they will continue to blow out all those hundreds of candles and enjoy their remaining years in good health. For this world has been a much better place with them in it.

Written by Kristin Phelps, contributing writer for LivingSupercentenarians.com. She can be contacted at kristin@livingsupercentenarians.com

Oldest Living Person

The oldest verified living supercentenarian in the world is American Besse Cooper.

Here she is with her 115th Birthday cake! Congratulations Besse. Currently, Besse is the 10th oldest undisputed person in history and the fifth undisputed oldest American ever.

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