Hermann Dornemann

Hermann Dörnemann (May 27, 1893 – March 2, 2005) of Germany was hailed in the press as the oldest living man in the world upon the death of almost 114-year-old American Fred H. Hale, Sr. on November 19, 2004. However, not until Hale's death did Dörnemann's family offer documentation to the Guinness Book of World Records or to a supercentenarian researcher, and at that point the claim of Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro was put forward too with documentation that he was born in 1891, almost two years earlier, which was subsequently accepted as well.

In any case, Dörnemann was recognized by the German government as Germany's oldest person for half a year, following the passing of fellow 111-year-old Lina Zimmer on August 28, 2004, until his own death. He was also very likely the oldest living veteran of the First World War who fought for the Central Powers.

Dörnemann credited his longevity to drinking "a beer a day".