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Maria de Jesus
Maria de Jesus
Maria de Jesus on her 113th birthday in 2006
Birth: 10 September 1893
Olival, Ourem, Santarem District, Portugal
Death: 2 January 2009
Corujo, Tomar, Santarem District, Portugal
Age: 115 years, 114 days
Country: PortugalPOR
Validated

Maria de Jesus (10 September 1893 – 2 January 2009) was a Portuguese supercentenarian who was recognized as the world's oldest living person, following the death of American Edna Parker on 26 November 2008, before her own death a little over a month later. She was the last validated living person born in 1893.[1]

Biography

Born in Olival, Santarem District, Portugal, as Maria de Jesus (born illegitimate, "Maria de Jesus" was a given name that was her entire name at birth, "dos Santos" was the surname of her husband but she made little use of it in life). Her mother was Joaquina d'Abreu (1870-1955) and lived to the age of 85.

She married in 1919 with Jose dos Santos and became a widow in 1951, when she was 57 years old. From that relationship, five children were born, three of whom are still living. One of those, a daughter, Madalena, was born on 25 December 1924 and was living with her at time of her death.

She had 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. During her lifetime, she visited the hospital only once and was long in very good health, with the exception of her ambulation. Maria worked on the land for her entire life and still lived in her own house instead of a nursing home (like the majority of supercentenarians), where she woke up every morning at 11AM to do her daily hand exercises.

Although she was still responsive as of November 2008, she could no longer recognize her family, and had serious problems with her sight and hearing, although she was still able to smile and wave at visitors. Despite her worsening cognitive abilities, she still remained unusually healthy for her age, and was able to walk around her home with the aid of a walker. She enjoyed looking through her old family albums, sunbathing at her porch, eating Portuguese rice pudding and ice cream, as well as taking baths. Reportedly, she never smoked or drank alcohol. She also avoided eating meat, preferring to eat fish and vegetables.[2]

Longevity Records

25 July 2005: De Jesus becomes the oldest living person in Portugal at the age of 111 years, 318 days after the death of 114-year-old Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes.

12 August 2006: De Jesus becomes the oldest living person in Europe at the age of 112 years, 336 days after the death of 114-year-old Frenchwoman Camille Loiseau on 12 August 2006.[1]

11 June 2008: At age 114 years, 275 days, De Jesus surpasses Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes as the oldest validated Portuguese person of all time.

26 November 2008: Following the death of American Edna Parker, she becomes the oldest living person in the world for the final month of her life, becoming the first and only Portuguese person to ever hold this title.

Death

Maria de Jesus died in Corujo, Tomar, Santarem District, Portugal on 2 January 2009 at the age of 115 years, 114 days.[3] The cause of death was reported as septic shock. Her death left 114-year-old American Gertrude Baines as the oldest living person.[4]

Gallery

See also

References

External links


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


Portugal's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Maria da Conceicao Silva • Unknown • Maria Alves de Jesus • Unknown • Antonio de Almeida • Unknown • Maria Pereira • Unknown • Custodia JacintoRosa Cadete • Unknown • Mariana Chiromo • Unknown • Elvira de Jesus Caldeira • Jose Ferreira Andrade • Maria do Couto Maia-Lopes • Maria de Jesus • Augusto Moreira de Oliveira • Antonio de Castro • Maria Luiza Nunes da Silva • Carmelina Augusta Delgado •   Maria Dolores Ferreira • Laurinda da Conceicao • Maria da Conceicao • Joaquina Martins • Romana Marques • Maria da Encarnacao SousaIsabel Gomes SarmentoInacia CarmelinoMaria da Conceicao Brito

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