Louis Epstein

Louis Epstein (born February 8, 1961) is an American researcher known for compiling lists of the world's oldest people. Guinness World Records, which originated the lists of the world's oldest people, ceased publication of such lists after the 1995 edition. Epstein, feeling one-per-country lists could be improved on and filling a void, began keeping lists privately. These were originally posted on such entities as the alt.obituaries newsgroup in 1997, Longevity Report 70 in 1998, and soon thereafter at www.recordholders.org. In 1998, his lists became the basis for the Gerontology Research Group's tables, including Tables A, B, C, D, and E (subsequent tables were created by Robert Young). Since that time, Epstein has continued to track the world's oldest validated persons.

Jean-Marie Robine has criticized the Epstein lists for lacking completeness; that is, due to the reporting effects older cases are more likely to be reported (age 113+) than those who die at 110 or 111, leading to data distortion. However, the criticism is of the list, not of the individual cases, which are generally considered to be valid.

He also runs Putnam Internet Services, an internet service provider in Putnam County, New York. On November 6, 2007 he was resoundingly defeated for election as Supervisor of Kent, New York.