National longevity recordholders

National longevity recordholders are those individuals who have survived to the oldest age in a given country. Such records can only be determined to the extent that the given country's records are reliable. Comprehensive birth registration largely came into being in the 20th century, and, currently, reliable records are necessarily fragmentary. The earliest comprehensive recordkeeping systems arose in Europe, in countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands. The United Kingdom organized a central recordkeeping system for England and Wales in 1837, which was compulsory by 1874.

This article gives the recordholders for various countries to the extent that they have been established. Male recordholders are also noted. Those born in one country who moved to another are identified insofar as information is available. If more than one recordholder is listed, this is due to disputed claims, alternative claims, or the lack of sufficient documentary evidence to make a clear determination between claimants. Countries are listed by nations in alphabetical order. It should be noted that some nations below were European colonies when the recordholder was born (i.e. French Algeria, Spanish Morocco) and the persons holding the record were in fact European as were the record-keeping systems.

This article uses links to those with biographies and boldfaces the names of those without such biographies. However, some bold-faced entries have biographies; they just haven't been linked to them yet.

Algeria
Algerian-born Frenchwoman Anne Primout (October 5, 1890-March 26, 2005) holds the Algerian record at 114 years and 172 days.

The male record belongs to Emile Fourcade at 111 years and 153 days (July 29, 1884-December 29, 1995), who also went on to be the oldest Frenchman ever, but since then Maurice Noël Floquet has surpassed this (see France).

Note: Algeria was legally a part of France from 1890 to 1962. Both Anne Primout and Emile Fourcade were French-speaking colonials.

Australia
Christina (Clay) Cock holds the female record at 114 years, 148 days (December 25, 1887–May 22, 2002).

John Henry "Jack" Lockett holds the male record at 111 years, 123 days (January 22, 1891–May 25, 2002).

Austria
Maria Mika holds the female record at 112 years, 178 days (May 23 1882-November 17 1994).

Leopold Vietoris, a notable mathematician, holds the male national record at 110 years, 309 days (June 4, 1891–April 9, 2002).

Belgium
Joanna Catharina "Woinke" (Turcksin) DeRoover holds the female record at 112 years and 186 days (June 3, 1890–December 6, 2002).

As Jan Machiel Reyskens (see Netherlands) retained Belgian citizenship, some consider him Belgium's male recordholder, which is correct officially. The oldest man who lived his entire life in Belgium however is Louis Marion, who was even their oldest inhabitant at the time of his death at age 110 years and 79 days (October 10, 1893-December 28, 2003).

Canada
Marie-Louise Meilleur holds the documented female record at 117 years, 230 days (August 29, 1880–April 16, 1998).

Herman Smith-Johannsen, nicknamed Jackrabbit Johannsen, is often claimed as the documented male recordholder at 111 years, 204 days (June 15, 1875–January 5, 1987). Though he was born in Norway and died there visiting family, he spent the bulk of his life in Canada (and introduced cross-country skiing to the country) and is buried there. The oldest man to actually die in Canada was UK-born George Ives (the last Second Boer War veteran, November 17, 1881 - April 12, 1993) at 111 years, 146 days. The oldest native-born Canadian man was Harry Chaloner (May 10, 1874 - October 30, 1984) at 110 years, 173 days (Harry emigrated to the U.S., however, and the SSDI listed him as younger than claimed).

Cape Verde
As Adelina Domingues was born in Cape Verde (though she later emigrated to the United States), she may be considered to hold the overall record at 114 years, 183 days (February 19, 1888–August 21, 2002).

Czech Republic
Emilie Doležalová holds the Czech record at 110 years, 153 days (June 7, 1894 - November 17, 2004).

Marie Bernátková was a Czechoslovakian supercentenarian born on October 22, 1857. She was last known to be alive in October 1968, shortly after turning 111, but since her exact date of death is unknown, this claim is not entirely verifiable.

Denmark
Anne Matthiesen holds the Danish record at 111 years, 114 days (November 26, 1884–March 19, 1996).

Two Danish emigrants have lived longer: Johanne Svensson (January 24, 1892–May 29, 2003), who died in Sweden, is the oldest Danish-born woman (11 days older than Matthiesen), and Christian Mortensen went on to become the oldest man in the world (see below at United States).

Ecuador
María Capovilla (September 14, 1889 – August 27, 2006) was the longest-lived Ecuadorean ever and the only Ecuadorean supercentenarian on record. When she died at age 116 years and 347 days, she had been the oldest living person in the world for 2 years and 3 months.

Faroe Islands
Fredrikka Maria Sigvardsen is the recordholder at 105 years, 144 days (July 2, 1875-November 23, 1980).

Finland
The official record is held by Lempi Rothovius at 112 years, 259 days (October 2, 1887–June 17, 2000). She also holds the female record for the Nordic countries.

France
Jeanne Calment is the world's oldest recorded person at 122 years, 164 days (February 21, 1875–August 4, 1997). She is therefore the oldest recorded French person and French woman as well.

Maurice Floquet is the oldest recorded French man to have lived. He died aged 111 years, 320 days (December 25, 1894-November 10, 2006).

Germany
According to the German government:

Maria Laqua, who died at 112 years 362 days (February 12, 1889–February 9, 2002) holds the female record.

Hermann Dörnemann holds the male record at 111 years, 279 days (May 27, 1893–March 2, 2005).

German-born Charlotte Benkner, who emigrated to the United States, surpassed all these lifespans in reaching 114 years, 180 days, and may therefore have some claim to the record.

Greece
As Gregory Pandazes was born in Greece (though he later emigrated to the United States), he may be considered to hold the male record at 110 years, 341 days (January 15, 1873–December 22, 1983).

Ioanna Lambropoulos holds the female record at 110 years, 25 days (May 8, 1884 - June 2, 1994). Lambrini Tsiatoura (1870 - February 19, 1981) holds the record for the longest-lived person who died in Greece at 110 years, + days.

Hungary
Csiki Sándorné, née Földes Rozália (having lived in Lepsény), born January 18, 1894 and died July 22, 2004, held the female record with 110 years and 186 days.

The oldest Hungarian man was Molnár Gergely András, who was born November 16, 1897 and died March 22, 2006 at age 108 years and 116 days.

Among emigrants, Elizabeth Stefan of Connecticut (born May 13, 1895 in Hungary, emigrated to the US in 1913) is now 112 years old.

(Note: names are in the Hungarian order, with surname first.)

Iceland
The longest lived Icelandic was Sólveig Pálsdóttir (August 20, 1897-October 28, 2006), who died at age 109 years and 69 days.

India
The record for the oldest person born in India is 113 years and 197 days, held by Lucy D'Abreu (May 24, 1892-December 7, 2005). Though she moved to Ireland in 1913 and to Scotland in 1985, she was of Indian origin and maintained contact with her family in India even past age 110.

Ireland
Katherine Plunket (November 22, 1820–October 14, 1932) holds the Irish record at 111 years and 327 days (see her biography).

Italy
The longest-lived Italian was Virginia Dighero-Zolezzi (December 24, 1891-December 28, 2005). She is the only Italian to have reached 114 years of age.

Antonio Todde holds the male record at 112 years, 346 days (January 22, 1889–January 3, 2002).

Japan
Shigechiyo Izumi's claim of 120 years, 237 days (June 29, 1865?–February 21, 1986) is accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records, but there is serious doubt among scholars as to whether he was in fact conflated with an older brother who died young.

Without more evidence for Izumi, most regard Tane Ikai (January 18, 1879–July 12, 1995) as the oldest reliably documented Japanese case at 116 years, 175 days. Certain older claims have been reported as valid by the Japanese government in the 1960s, but documentation was then of a lower standard.

Without Izumi, the oldest confirmed male Japanese is Yukichi Chuganji at 114 years, 189 days (March 23, 1889–September 28, 2003).

Morocco
Consuelo Moreno-Lopéz holds the record at 111 years and 282 days (February 5, 1893- November 13, 2004). Born in Spanish Morocco of Spanish parents, she emigrated to the US in 1960.

Netherlands
Hendrikje van Andel holds the overall national record at 115 years and 62 days and was thought to be the world's oldest living person from May 29, 2004 until her death on August 30, 2005 (though later superseded by Maria Capovilla). She was born June 29, 1890.

Thomas Peters has a claim to holding the male record at 111 years, 354 days (April 6, 1745–March 26, 1857). However, the correlation of the birth and death records used to confirm his claim is considered questionable.

If Peters is discounted, the Belgian-born Jan Machiel Reyskens would hold the male record at 111 years, 241 days (May 11, 1878–January 7, 1990). Jan Pieter Bos would then hold the male record as the longest-lived native Dutchman at 111 years, 156 days (July 12, 1891–December 15, 2002).

New Zealand
The oldest native New Zealander was Ethel Booth, who died aged 110 years and 55 days (December 25, 1890–February 18, 2001).

U.K.-born Florence Finch (December 22, 1893-April 10, 2007), however, died aged 113 years, 109 days.

Norway
Maren Bolette Torp holds the female record at 112 years, 61 days (December 21, 1876–February 20, 1989).

As Herman Smith-Johannsen (see Canada) was born in Norway, some consider him Norway's male recordholder. Otherwise it has to be native Norwegian Olav Hovatn, who died at 110 years, 185 days (October 23, 1893-April 26, 2004).

Peru
Julia Mendivil (Bergmann) Dougherty, who emigrated to the USA, holds the record at 110 years, 106 days (20 August, 1893-4 December 2003).

Philippines
Melchora Aquino (January 6, 1812-March 2, 1919), also known as "Tandang Sora", holds the Philippino record.

Poland
Rozalia Mielczarek (1868-January 7, 1981) holds the Polish record at 112 years + days.

Portugal
Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes holds the overall national record. She lived to be 114 years, 274 days old (October 24 1890-July 25 2005).

Augusto Oliveira Moreira, born October 6 1896, is the oldest Portuguese man on record.

Puerto Rico
Emiliano Mercado del Toro (oldest person in the world at the time of his death) is the oldest Puerto Rican ever at 115 years and 156 days (August 21, 1891-January 24, 2007).

Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan (also oldest person in the world at the time of her death) holds the female record at 114 years and 272 days (August 31, 1889–May 29, 2004).

Romania
Anitica Butariu (or Anicuta Butariu) is considered to hold the record at 115 years, 157 days (June 17, 1882–November 21, 1997). However, there has been some question as to the source of the available documentation.

Russia
Russia is one of those regions of the world where record-keeping is poor and the myths of longevity continue to thrive (for more information, see longevity myths).

According to official Russian statistics for 2007, there were 6800 centenarians living in Russia, with the oldest person being Varvara Semennikova of Yakutia, aged 117. In March 2005, Russian media agencies reported that President Vladimir Putin congratulated Maria Strelnikova with her 115th birthday.

Russia has been known for a number of extreme supercentenarian claims, especially in the mountainous areas of the Caucasus, where the rarefied air, geographical isolation and millenarian habits are claimed to be perfect antidotes against the anxiety and the stress. For instance, Sarhat Rashidova, who died on 16 January, 2007, had the passport claiming that she was born in 1875 and so was 131 years old. Dagestani herder Gairkhan Iriskhanov turned 112 on 14 June, 2000, but claimed he was even older. Khasako Dzugayev died aged 110 years + days (August 7, 1860-August 1970).

Among Russian emigrants, Russian-born Helen Czechowicz died in the US February 3, 2006, aged 110 years and 33 days. Her age was confirmed through a 1913 ship manifest. Among better known persons, poet Sasha Krasny (1882?-1995) is reported to have died at the age of 113.

Slovenia
Marija Bandelj holds the female record at 108 years, 41 days (March 6, 1897–April 16, 2005).

South Africa
Johanna Booyson holds the apparent South African record at 111 years, 151 days (January 17, 1857–June 16, 1968).

Spain
Joan Riudavets holds the overall and the male record for Spain at 114 years, 81 days (December 15, 1889–March 5, 2004).

Maria del Carmen Figueiro Freiria de Salgueiro, commonly known as Carmen Figueiro Freiria, holds the female record at 113 years, 209 days (October 28, 1883–May 25, 1997).

Sweden
Astrid Zachrison (born May 15, 1895) hold the female record at 129 years, 104 days.

Anders Engberg holds the male record at 111 years, 128 days (July 1, 1892–November 6, 2003).

Switzerland
Emma Duvoisin holds the record at 111 years, 67 days (5 July, 1886-30 September, 1997).

Fritz Bösch holds the male record at 109 years, 273 days (25 February, 1877-25 November, 1986).

United Kingdom
Charlotte Hughes of England holds the female record at 115 years, 252 days (August 1, 1877–March 17, 1993).

John Evans of Wales holds the male record at 112 years, 295 days (August 19, 1877–June 10, 1990).

United States
Sarah Knauss holds the female record at 119 years, 97 days (September 24, 1880–December 30, 1999).

Christian Mortensen holds the male record at 115 years, 252 days (August 16, 1882–April 25, 1998). Mortensen immigrated to the USA from Denmark. Among native-born men, the Social Security Administration recognizes Mathew Beard at 114 years, 222 days (July 9, 1870–February 16, 1985); however, the census record match used in determining this case is considered questionable. The oldest American-born man clearly matched by early records is Fred H. Hale, Sr. at 113 years, 354 days (December 1, 1890–November 19, 2004).