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Eva Morris
Eva Morris
Birth: 8 November 1885
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, UK
Death: 2 November 2000
Stone, Staffordshire, England, UK
Age: 114 years, 360 days
Country: United Kingdom UK
Validated

Eva Morris (née Sharpe; 8 November 1885 – 2 November 2000) was a British supercentenarian who was recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world at the time of her death. Her age is also validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

Morris was the world's last surviving person who was verifiably born in 1885 and the earliest-born person to live in the 2000s. She is also the third-oldest British person ever recorded, after Charlotte Hughes and Annie Jennings.

Biography

Morris was born on 8 November 1885 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. She worked as a domestic help. She was married to Joseph Morris, who died in the 1930s. They had one child, Winnie, who died of cancer in 1975 aged 62.

Morris attributed her longevity to "whisky and boiled onions". She lived in her own flat until she was 107. After suffering from a chest infection, she moved in to a nursing home in Stone, Staffordshire. In her final years, she was deaf and partially sighted. She died on 2 November 2000, six days before she would have celebrated her 115th birthday.

Longevity Records

British and European Records

Following the death of 113 year-old Ruby Gilliam on 22 October 1998, Morris not only became the last surviving British person born in 1885, but also the last born before 1887, as she and Gilliam had outlived everyone in Britain born in 1886.

Morris became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom, as well as in Europe, following the death of 115 year-old Annie Jennings on 20 November 1999. At the time of her death on 2 November 2000, Morris was the third-oldest British person ever recorded, and she remains in that position as of 2024.

Following Morris's death, 113 year-old Amy Hulmes became the oldest living person in the UK, while 114 year-old Marie Bremont of France became the oldest living person in Europe as well as the world.

World Records

Following the death of 119 year-old Sarah Knauss on 30 December 1999, Morris became the oldest living person in the world whose age has been authenticated. She was officially recognised as the world's oldest person by The Guinness Book of Records in March 2000.

Morris's claim to the world's oldest person title was contested by two longevity claimants; Elizabeth Israel, a Dominican woman who claimed to be 125, as well as Maria do Carmo Geronimo, a Brazilian woman who claimed to be 129. However, Geronimo died in June 2000 and neither age claim was able to be validated.

Morris was the earliest-born validated person to have survived to the year 2000, after Sarah Knauss (born in 1880) died two days before the year began on 30 December 1999. Morris later became the last surviving validated person born in 1885 following the death of Myrtle Dorsey on 25 June 2000, who was two weeks younger.

Following Morris's death, 114 year-old Marie Bremont of France became the oldest living person in Europe and the world, while 113 year-old Amy Hulmes became the oldest living person in the UK.

Gallery

References


United Kingdom's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Frederick Stabbins • Jane ListerMartha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Jane Raby • Frances Smith • William Walker • Ann Russell • Eliza Roff • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Rachel SwainMary Davey • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Elizabeth Sellwood • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Emma Rooke • Margaret Lunn • Sarah Humphrey • Caroline BealeFanny Hopkins • Elizabeth Etheridge • Sophia Wellstead • Rhoda Harris • Emma Weeks • Edith Grellier • Mary WorthingtonJane Stoneman • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Hannah SmithJohn Mosley TurnerAda Roe • Alice StevensonElizabeth WatkinsFrederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Agnes Helyar • James Harrow • Sarah Morgan • Lilias WilliamsFlorence PannellJeanetta ThomasAlice Brewster • Anna Eliza Williams • Kate Begbie • Charlotte Hughes • Daisy Adams • Rebecca Hewison • Annie Scott • Rachel Wieselberg • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Amy Hulmes • Nellie Bradley • Gladys Hawley • Lucy d'Abreu • Judy Ingamells • Emmeline BriceAnnie Knight • Ada Mason • Florrie Baldwin • Eunice BowmanAnnie Turnbull • Elsie SteeleMargaret Fish • Violet Wood • Grace A Jones • Ethel Lang • Gladys Hooper • Bessie CammOlive BoarGrace C JonesGwen PayneHilda ClulowBob WeightonJoan HocquardLilian PriestGertrude KingstonMollie WalkerEthel Caterham


World's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Betsy BakerJennie HowellMarie CarstensonNancy RyanChristina Karnebeek-Backs • Marie Olsen • Mary Kelly • Elizabeth Kensley • William Fullingim • Hannah Smith • John Mosley Turner • Johanna Booysen • Marie Bernatkova • Ada Roe • Josefa Salas Mateo • Alice Stevenson • Elizabeth Watkins • Mito Umeta • Niwa Kawamoto • Sophia DeMuth • Marie-Virginie Duhem • Fannie Thomas • Augustine Tessier • Nellie Spencer • Emma WilsonAugusta Holtz • Mary McKinney • Anna Eliza Williams • Florence Knapp • Jeanne Calment • Marie-Louise Meilleur • Sarah Knauss • Eva Morris • Marie Bremont • Maud Farris-Luse • Grace Clawson • Adelina Domingues • Mae Harrington • Yukichi Chuganji • Mitoyo Kawate • Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan • Maria Capovilla • Elizabeth Bolden • Emiliano Mercado del Toro • Emma Tillman • Yone Minagawa • Edna Parker • Maria de Jesus • Gertrude Baines • Kama Chinen • Eugenie Blanchard • Maria Gomes Valentim • Besse Cooper • Dina Manfredini • Jiroemon Kimura • Misao Okawa • Gertrude Weaver • Jeralean Talley • Susannah Mushatt Jones • Emma Morano • Violet BrownNabi Tajima • Chiyo MiyakoKane TanakaLucile RandonMaria Branyas Morera


World's Oldest Living Woman Titleholders (VE)

Betsy BakerJennie HowellMarie CarstensonNancy RyanChristina Karnebeek-Backs • Marie Olsen • Mary Kelly • Elizabeth Kensley • Auguste Pahl • Hannah Smith • Yoshigiku Ito • Johanna Booysen • Marie Bernatkova • Ada Roe • Josefa Salas Mateo • Alice Stevenson • Elizabeth Watkins • Mito Umeta • Niwa Kawamoto • Sophia DeMuth • Marie-Virginie Duhem • Fannie Thomas • Augustine Tessier • Nellie Spencer • Emma Wilson • Augusta Holtz • Mary McKinney • Anna Eliza Williams • Florence Knapp • Jeanne Calment • Marie-Louise Meilleur • Sarah Knauss • Eva Morris • Marie Bremont • Maud Farris-Luse • Grace Clawson • Adelina Domingues • Mae Harrington • Mitoyo Kawate • Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan • Maria Capovilla • Elizabeth Bolden • Julie Winnefred Bertrand • Emma Tillman • Yone Minagawa • Edna Parker • Maria de Jesus • Gertrude Baines • Kama Chinen • Eugenie Blanchard • Maria Gomes Valentim • Besse Cooper • Dina Manfredini • Koto Okubo • Misao Okawa • Gertrude Weaver • Jeralean Talley • Susannah Mushatt Jones • Emma Morano • Violet Brown • Nabi Tajima • Chiyo MiyakoKane TanakaLucile RandonMaria Branyas Morera


Europe's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Willem van Renterghem • Marie d'Evergroote • Lavina Hansdatter • Kirsti Skagen • Geert Adriaans Boomgaard • Margaret Ann Neve • Karen BrodbaekSophia Wijnberg • Agnete Olsdatter • Honor Coleman • Sophie Lacomte • Maria Vleminckx • Johanna Berns • Matthias Dodenhoff • Sarah Gardiner • Elisabeth Jensen • Britta Njeldsdatter • Frederick Stabbins • Jane Lister • Martha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Gertrud Kübbeler • Marie Delfairiere • Frances Smith • Katherine Plunket • Eliza Roff • Maria Montemurro • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Anne Marie SkauRachel Swain • Wilhelmine Olschewski • Mary Davey • Francesco Cubadda • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Johanna Johansson • Elizabeth Sellwood • Petronella Braams • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Karl Glockner • Sarah Humphrey • Maria Johansson • Michelina Macchia • Caroline Beale • Josephine Marchal • Luise Rissmann • Christina Karnebeek-Backs • Marie Olsen • Willem Kostering • Ella Ille Rentel • Lovisa Svensson • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Auguste Pahl • Hannah Smith • Anna KrslencovaJohn Mosley Turner • Marie Bernatkova • Ada Roe • Josefa Salas Mateo • Alice Stevenson • Frederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Marie-Virginie Duhem • Josefa Llovet • Florence PannellAugustine Tessier • Jeanetta Thomas • Alice Brewster • Petronella Ribbens-Verstallen • Anna Eliza Williams • Jeanne Calment • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Marie Bremont • Amy Hulmes • Germaine Haye • Teresa Fumarola • Joan Riudavets-Moll • Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper • Virginia Dighero-Zolezzi • Camille Loiseau • Maria de Jesus • Manuela Fernandez-Fojaco • Lucia Lauria • Florrie Baldwin • Venere Pizzinato-Papo • Marcelle Narbonne • Marie-Therese Bardet • Maria Redaelli • Emma Morano • Ana Vela Rubio • Giuseppina Projetto • Maria Giuseppa Robucci • Lucile RandonMaria Branyas Morera

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