Johannes W Hansen

Johannes Wilhelm Hansen (10 April 1867 – 13 September 1976) was a Danish centenarian who was the oldest living man (and person) in Denmark and the Nordic region at the time of his death. He was also Denmark’s oldest man ever for over 40 years until his age was surpassed by Georg Jensen in late 2016.

Biography
Johannes Wilhelm Hansen was born in Odense, Syddanmark on 10 April 1867 to parents Rasmus Hansen (1825 – 1916) and Else Marie Larsdatter (1828 – 1915). He had three brothers: Hans, Poul, and Lars. He was baptised at two months old on 16 June 1867. He later married and had a daughter, who was 79 at the time of Hansen’s death.

Hansen worked as a bricklayer and mason. In his later life, his hearing and vision began to deteriorate. He moved into a nursing home as a centenarian, but soon moved back into his old two-bedroom apartment due to disliking the nursing home. At the age of 108, he expressed his wish to grow no older.

On 21 March 1970, he became the oldest man in Denmark after the death of 106-year-old Andreas M Hansen. He became the oldest person in Denmark on 15 February 1975, following the death of 108-year-old Rasmine Rogersen. Eight days later, Sweden’s Anna M Johansson died aged 109, making Hansen the oldest person in the Nordic region. Hansen was the first known Danish man to reach the ages of 107 through 109.

Hansen passed away in Odense, Syddanmark on 13 September 1976 at the age of 109 years, 156 days. He was succeeded as Denmark’s oldest person and man, as well as those of the Nordic region, by various people. He was also among the oldest men in the world at the time of his death.