# A Person Born in the 19th Century Is Still With Us **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932 "2012-10-26T13:58:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/1 "2012-10-26T13:58:00Z")
[Besse Cooper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besse_Cooper) I just did a search and Besse comes up. She is the last person alive to have been there during the Grover Cleveland administration. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/2 "2012-10-26T14:05:29Z")
She has been widowed nearly 50 years. She was married nearly 40. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/3 "2012-10-26T14:11:18Z")
So, it is better getting rid of your partner on those figures? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/4 "2012-10-26T14:12:15Z")
According to [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_living_supercentenarians), there are 34 people from the 19th century who are still with us. 20 if you refuse to count 1900. The World Bank says the current population is 6,973,738,433, more or less. So 34 / 6773738433 is… not much. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/5 "2012-10-26T14:20:24Z")
Am I the only one that looks for what these supercentenarians attribute their longevity to hoping that someday it’ll be french fries, whiskey and sex? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/6 "2012-10-26T14:21:29Z")
I like this quote from that page Dr Drake: A person is considered to be a verified living supercentenarian if their date of birth has been verified to be more than 110 years ago by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, and they are still alive. They are considered to be a living supercentarian if they are still alive? Hello. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/7 "2012-10-26T14:57:38Z")
Just think of the changes that have happened just since she hit middle-age. _In WWII._ ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/8 "2012-10-26T17:08:51Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Am I the only one that looks for what these supercentenarians attribute their longevity to hoping that someday it’ll be french fries, whiskey and sex? And chocolate. Lots of chocolate! ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/9 "2012-10-26T18:24:42Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Just think of the changes that have happened just since she hit middle-age. _In WWII._ Holy crap. She was middle-aged in WW2. That’s crazy to think about honestly. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/10 "2012-10-26T18:27:51Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Holy crap. She was middle-aged in WW2. That’s crazy to think about honestly. Someone who was her age on her day of birth was born four years after the start of the American Revolution. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/11 "2012-10-26T18:45:08Z")
I had a few great aunts who were born in the 1890s. The last one, born in 1899, died when I was in high school. Amazing to think that if she was still alive, she’d be one of the 20 oldest people on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/12 "2012-10-26T18:56:34Z")
_“She reputedly attributes her longevity to “minding her own business” and avoiding junk food.”_ That’s pretty fucking funny ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/13 "2012-10-26T21:20:14Z")
Probably no more members of the eight-years-without-a-birthday club. You would have to have born on Feb. 29, 1896 (or 1892) to qualify. On the other hand, some people, say, last Feb. 29 will likely be around to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/14 "2012-10-26T22:25:57Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > And chocolate. Lots of chocolate! Ah, you want the [Jeanne Calment diet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_calment#Health_and_lifestyle), which is rich in olive oil, port wine, and chocolate (allegedly nearly a kilogram a week, which I find hard to believe). Of course, she also smoked until she was 117 years old. Some people are just tough. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/15 "2012-10-27T16:49:48Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Of course, she also smoked until she was 117 years old. Some people are just tough. And massively lucky. 2 cigarettes a day is certainly also helpful, which is what she is reported to have smoked. Still, that is one lucky lady. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/16 "2012-10-27T19:30:03Z")
My grandmother is just a little over two years from being a supercentenarian. She was born on December 17, 1904, 0ne year to the day after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. She has voted in 21 straight Presidential elections(Herbert Hoover anyone?), and if she could have voted at eighteen, it would be one more. When she votes in the upcoming election, it will be quite an event. Grandma is part of a continuing study on aging, based at Boston University. At 105 she answered an extensive list of questions about her life and health history and gave blood for DNA analysis. Every six months there’s another interview to she how she’s doing. Her husband, my grandfather, has been dead for thirty years, but he was born, just barely, in the 19th century. His birthday was in October of 1900. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/17 "2012-10-27T22:17:24Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Someone who was her age on her day of birth was born four years after the start of the American Revolution. Seems more interesting that she herself was born one year after the American Civil War. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > Holy crap. She was middle-aged in WW2. That’s crazy to think about honestly. Menopause was hell. They bombed Pearl Harbor. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/18 "2012-10-27T22:24:25Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Seems more interesting that she herself was born one year after the American Civil War. Goddammit, am I being whooshed again, or do I need to weep for the state of history education? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/19 "2012-10-27T22:33:25Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Goddammit, am I being whooshed again, or do I need to weep for the state of history education? Heh, sorry. I just transposed the last two numbers of either the end of the Civil War or her birthdate. But weep away if it makes you feel good about yourself. \*eta: or something. I was actually looking at the two dates and screwed it up somehow. I’m Canadian, so the ACW came up less than you might think in school. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932/20 "2012-10-27T23:00:55Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Holy crap. She was middle-aged in WW2. That’s crazy to think about honestly. And she was a young adult during WW1. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-person-born-in-the-19th-century-is-still-with-us/638932.md?page=2)