| Sebastiana De Lourdes Silva | |
 | |
| Birth: | 3 May 1895? Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Death: | 1 April 2012 Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Age: | 116 years, 334 days? |
| Country: |  BRA
|
| Longevity claimant | |
Sebastiana De Lourdes Silva (3 May 1895? – 1 April 2012) was a Brazilian longevity claimant whose age is currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). If her claimed age was true, she would have been the oldest living person in the world from the death of Gertrude Baines on 11 September 2009 until her own death over two and a half years later.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Sebastiana De Lourdes Silva claimed to have been born in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 3 May 1895. Her parents were Joaquin Ramiro Correa and Vitarina Silveira da Silva. Allegedly, her parents were slaves. Sebastiana was married but never had children. Allegedly, her husband had never wanted children and that was the reason why they divorced shortly after marriage. She worked as a housekeeper during her lifetime.
De Lourdes Silva lived in Asilo Nicolino Gulhot, Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she moved around 1987. Before that she lived alone as she didn't had children.
Later Life[]
She was lucid until the age of 104, and smoked until the age of 110. For the secret of her longevity, she said: pray and enjoy in life every day as God permits. She suffered a stroke soon after turning 109 that left her blind and bedridden but she was still clear-headed.
At the claimed age of 116, she was not afflicted by any disease and didn't take any medications at the time. The director of her nursing home, Teresinha Degmar Honorio, stated that she loved to dance before a stroke. He said that she came to live here on her own. She lived alone, had no kids, and then she came to the retirement home and asked to stay. He added that she had a clear mind, was active, happy and always helped to take care of the other seniors in the nursing home.
Sebastiana De Lourdes Silva died in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 1 April 2012 at the claimed age of 116 years, 334 days.
Age Verification[]
Sebastiana De Lourdes Silva allegedly had records to prove she was the world's oldest person, though nothing had been submitted to the Guinness World Records at the time of her passing.
No early or midlife records have been found or sent to GWR or GRG. The only known records that indicate her age are later life identification and registration cards. One such card, from 1987 when De Lourdes Silva was 92, supports her birthyear as 1895. Therefore she had been claiming her age since at least 1987. Despite there being no records to prove her age otherwise, it is still unlikely to be verified due to the fact the no documents have been submitted. Her death date has also been called into question.
If her claimed age were true, she would have been the oldest living person in the world for over two and a half years before her death, meaning that Kama Chinen, Eugenie Blanchard, Maria Gomes Valentim, and Besse Cooper never would have held the title. She also would have been the second oldest person ever from South America (after Maria Capovilla) and the fourth oldest person ever after Jeanne Calment, Sarah Knauss, Delphia Welford and Capovilla.
Gallery[]
References[]
- Brasileira completa 116 anos e pode ser a mais velha do mundo G1, 4 May 2011
- Resendense completa 116 anos e esta entre as pessoas mais idosas do mundo Diário do Vale, 14 May 2011
- 2 June 2011 Click Carangola [not available]