Theophilus May

Theophilus May (January 5, 1861 – December 2, 1971) was a British-American supercentenarian who is currently unverified. He was born in St. Giles in the Wood, Devonshire, United Kingdom, and had 13 other siblings. All of them eventually lived to be between 70-80 years old. He worked as a teacher in England.

May emigrated to United States in the late 1880s. He first worked as a shoe clerk before becoming a letter carrier in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1894. He eventually retired in 1927. At 98, he started living with his grandson, whose wife was a nurse. At 104, he became bedridden. On the occasion of his 105th birthday, it was mentioned that he had poor hearing. He revealed on his 107th birthday that ”an ounce of whiskey with water each night” helped him sleep.

When he was 110 years old, he read a lot and took interest in the world around him. He was completely deaf at the time, and didn’t want an operation that would restore his hearing, due to the high cost. May was a fan of the baseball team Cincinnati Reds. He smoked pipe daily, even as a supercentenarian.

May died on December 2, 1971, at the age of 110 years, 331 days. He was the oldest living man at the time of his death.