Charlie Smith (died October 5, 1979)
[McCarthy, Kevin M. (1995). ''The Hippocrene U.S.A. Guide to Black Florida''. Hippocrene Books. pp. 29-30. ] was an American
longevity claimant noted for claiming to be the oldest person in the United States at the time of his death on October 5, 1979 at age 137.
Bone age Bone age is the degree of a person's skeletal development. In children, bone age serves as a measure of physiological maturity and aids in the diagnosis of growth abnormalities, endocrine disorders, and other medical conditions. As a person grows fr ...
tests after his death in 1979 revealed that Smith was between 99–105 years old when he died.
[McWhirter, Norris. (1981). ''Guinness Book of World Records''. New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 25. ]
History
Smith stated that he had been born in
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
in 1842, kidnapped to the United States at age 12 and sold into
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in Louisiana to a Texas rancher. Later research indicated that he had been born
circa
Circa is a word of Latin origin meaning 'approximately'.
Circa or CIRCA may also refer to:
* CIRCA (art platform), art platform based in London
* Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup
* Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear com ...
1874 or even later. In particular, his marriage certificate, issued January 8, 1910, listed him as being 35 years old at the time.
He was invited to view the launch of
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...
in 1972 from the
VIP
A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots.
Examples inc ...
area at the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
. He amused reporters with his skeptical comments, asserting that "th' ain't nobody goin' t' no moon. Me, you, or anybody else" and, after the launch, "I see they goin' somewhere, but that don't mean nothin'."
Smith died in
Bartow, Florida
Bartow ( ) is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American C ...
on October 5, 1979.
nytimes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2023. He was buried at Wildwood Cemetery.
In popular media
The first film, "Charlie Smith at 131" (30 minutes) was made 1973 and directed by Michael Rabiger for the BBC "Yesterday's Witness" series.
Smith's falsified "life story" (which he took great delight in relating to interviewers, visitors, or basically anyone who would listen) was dramatized on film in 1978 in a 90-minute episode of the PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
television series ''Visions
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
'' titled "Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree." In the story, Smith comes to America in 1854 on the promise that there are "fritter
A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...
trees" there. Tricked into slavery, he later escapes, joins the Union army and, after the war, heads out west where he chases Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
and rides with Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...
.
See also
* List of the last surviving American enslaved people
References
External links
* http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/vfssp.html#CharlieSmith.html
"Secret of Long Life"
''Time'', July 14, 1967
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charlie
19th-century births
1979 deaths
Longevity myths