Jeanne Calment

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Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Calment on her 119th birthday
Born February 21, 1875(1875-02-21)
Arles, France
Died August 4, 1997
(aged &0000000000000122.000000122 years, &0000000000000164.000000164 days)
Arles, France
Spouse Fernand Calment (lived: 1868-1942, married: 1896-1942)

Jeanne Louise Calment (IPA: [ʒan lwiz kal'mɑ̃]; February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) was a French woman who reached the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122 years 164 days (44,724 days in total).[1] Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study; more records have been produced to verify her age than for any other case.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

She was born in Arles, France, to a well-to-do family; her close family members also lived to an advanced age: her brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father, Nicolas, 93, and her mother, Marguerite, 86. In 1896, she married her second cousin (grandson of her great-uncle) Fernand Calment, a wealthy store owner. His wealth made it possible for Calment never to have to work; instead she led a relaxed lifestyle, pursuing hobbies like tennis, cycling, swimming, rollerskating, piano, and opera. Her husband died in 1942, after eating a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries.[citation needed]

Calment's longevity was not shared by her offspring. Her only daughter, Yvonne, died at age 36 in 1934 from pneumonia. As a result, the task of bringing up her grandson Frédéric fell on her shoulders. He became a doctor, but died in 1963 in a motorcycle accident.

In 1965, aged 90, with no living heirs, Jeanne Calment signed a deal, common in France, to sell her condominium apartment en viager to lawyer François Raffray. Raffray, then aged 47, agreed to pay a monthly sum until she died, an agreement sometimes called a "reverse mortgage". At the time of the deal, the value of the apartment was equal to ten years of payments. Calment lived more than thirty additional years. Raffray died of cancer in December 1995, at the age of 77, leaving his widow to continue the payments for twenty more months.

Calment was featured, along with other Arles residents, in a 21-minute MGM short film called Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light, filmed as a promotion for Vincente Minnelli's 1956 film Lust for Life. In the short film, she is shown speaking with the star of the film Kirk Douglas.[citation needed]

[edit] Recognition

In 1985, Calment moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own until age 110. Nevertheless, she did not gain international fame until 1988, when the centenary of Vincent van Gogh's visit to Arles provided an occasion to meet reporters. She said that at age 14 she met van Gogh in her father's shop, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable." She also reported attending the 1885 funeral of Victor Hugo.

At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever. A French documentary film about her life, entitled Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment, was released in 1995. In 1996, the nursing home where she lived released a CD entitled Time's Mistress. It featured her reminiscing, set to rap and other tunes. She was also a smoker and only quit when she was 117 years old.[3] She was the last recognized surviving person of the 1870s.

[edit] Assignment of record

After her 1988 interview, at age 113, Calment was given the Guinness Records' "world's oldest person" title. She was first mentioned in the Guinness Records publication of 1989, in new claims at the end. However, in 1990, the title was withdrawn and given to Carrie C. White of Florida, who was claimed to have been born in 1874, although this has been disputed by subsequent census research.

On White's death on February 14, 1991, Calment, then a week shy of 116, became the oldest recognized living person. On October 17, 1995 Calment reached 120 years and 238 days to become the Guinness "oldest person ever", surpassing Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan, whose own claim has since also been subject to some doubt. Coincidentally, Izumi died on Calment's 111th birthday.

If the cases of Shigechiyo Izumi and Carrie White are discounted, Calment is the first person documented to reach 115, 116, 117, 118 and 119 years old. She is also the only person to have undisputedly lived at least 120 years.

Following Calment's death on August 4, 1997, then almost 117-year-old Marie-Louise Meilleur of Canada became the oldest recognized person in the world.

[edit] Health status

Jeanne Calment's remarkable health presaged her later record. At age 85, she took up fencing. At 100, she was still riding a bicycle. Jeanne lived on her own until shortly before her 110th birthday, when her cooking caused an accidental fire in her apartment, and it was decided that she needed to be moved to a nursing home. However, Jeanne was still in good shape, and was able to walk until a fall at age 114 years and 11 months. Jeanne survived a hip operation in January 1990 to become the oldest verified surgery patient. Although she needed to use a wheelchair afterward, Jeanne remained talkative and received frequent visitors until her 122nd birthday, at which time it was finally decided that her health status had declined and warranted privacy. Indeed, it was said by Jean-Marie Robine that this "allowed her to die", because the attention had kept her going. Jeanne Calment died five months later. She reportedly attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance (for her age) to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin. Interestingly enough, Jeanne Calment smoked until she was 117, quit, and then picked up the habit again at 118 years old, stating: "Once you've lived as long as me, then you can tell me not to smoke."[4]


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Guinness Book of Records 1999, p.102, ISBN 0851120709
  2. ^ Validation of Exceptional Longevity - Jeanne Calment: Validation of the Duration of Her Life
  3. ^ Jeanne Calment biography
  4. ^ "Quite Interesting", The Daily Telegraph, 2007-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Anna Eliza Williams		 Undisputed oldest recorded person ever
July 18, 1989 – Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Shigechiyo Izumi (disputed)		 Oldest recorded person ever
October 17, 1995 – Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Carrie C. White (disputed)		 Oldest recognised living person
February 14, 1991 – August 4, 1997		 Succeeded by
Marie-Louise Meilleur


Persondata
NAME Calment, Jeanne Louise
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Super centenarian
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Arles, France
DATE OF DEATH August 4, 1997
PLACE OF DEATH Arles, France