Walter Breuning

Walter Breuning (born September 21, 1896 – April 14, 2011) was an American supercentenarian and the oldest verified native american man ever and was also the last verified man born in the year 1896.Depsite being born in 1896,which is 4 years before the end of the 19th century,he was still U.S.'s last verified 19th century man.He was the third oldest man ever at his death but was soon suprassed by Jiroemon Kimura (who went onto become the oldest man ever) and he was pushed back to the fourth spot.He still remains one of the six validated men to reach the age of 114 or more and the only native american man to do it.He is tall for a supercentenarian,as he was 5"8 (1.73m) and that is tall for a male supercentenarian as supercentenarian lose a lot of height and he said he weighed 57 kg for over 35 years.For his longevity and records,click here.

Biography
Walter Breuning was born in Melrose, Minnesota toJohn Breuning and Cora Morehouse Breuning, and had four siblings,two girls and two boys.In 1901 when he was only about 5, his family moved to De Smet, South Dakota, where he went to school for nine years until his family broke up when he was 14 in 1910.His family lived without electricity, water, or plumbing.Apart from his parents who died at only 50 and 46, there are still a few longevity runs in Breuning's family. His paternal and maternal grandparents all lived into their 90s and his siblings lived to ages 78, 85, 91 and 100. His only living family are 1 niece and 3 nephews all now in their 80s, plus great-nieces and great-nephews.In 1910, Breuning got dropped out of school and began scraping bakery pans for about $2.50 weekly.He joined the Great Northern Railway in 1913, working for it for more than fifty years. During his early years, Breuning commented that he would have to hide from owner James J. Hill, as he was hired at 17 and Hill did not want any railroad employees under the age of 18.Breuning worked for the Great Northern Railway until age 66, and was also a manager/secretary for the local Shriner's club until the age of 99.During the first world war he signed up,but was never called up and he was a little too old for the second World War.He moved to Montana in 1918, where he continued working as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway. There, he met Agnes Twokey, a telegraph operator from  Butte,he was married her in 1922  and was married until her death in 1957. They had no children and Breuning was believed to have never married again, as he thought second marriages don't work. However, after his death, a marriage certificate was located, revealing that he married Margaret Vanest on October 5, 1958,Maragret died on  January 15, 1975.