Emiliano Mercado del Toro (August 21, 1891 – January 24, 2007) was a Puerto Rican
supercentenarian
A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...
and military veteran who was, at age 115, the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old
Elizabeth Bolden
Elizabeth Bolden (née Jones; August 15, 1890 – December 11, 2006) was an American supercentenarian who, at the time of her death at age 116 years, 118 days, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the then- world's oldest living person.< ...
on December 11, 2006, and the world's oldest man from November 19, 2004 (death of Fred H. Hale, Sr.) until his own death on January 24, 2007.
At the time of his death in January 2007, at the age of 115 years and 156 days, Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever, behind
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Christian Mortensen
Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen (August 16, 1882 – April 25, 1998), known as Christian Mortensen, was a Danish supercentenarian, who resided in California, United States. (Although
Shigechiyo Izumi
was a Japanese centenarian who was titled the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto on 16 November 1976, also from Japan. His case was initially verified by ''Guinness World Records'', who titled him the oldest man ever, but Gu ...
was still believed to be older at the time of his death. Izumi's record was withdrawn by ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' in 2010.)
Biography
Emiliano (known to his family as "Emilio") was born in
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Cabo Rojo (, ) is a city and municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area.
Hist ...
, (at a time when Puerto Rico was a
Spanish colony
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
Mercado first came to the attention of longevity researchers in 2001, when a story ran about a 110-year-old veteran in a parade in Puerto Rico. After that, researchers tried to track him down, but only after the November 2004 death of Fred H. Hale, Sr. did someone finally start sending in documents. Following Mr. Hale's death, Emiliano apparently became the oldest man in the world, with documents supplied so far including a birth certificate, baptismal certificate, 1910 census record, and veteran ID card. By January 2005, Guinness had accepted Emiliano as the oldest living man.
In addition, Emiliano Mercado del Toro was 27 years old in October 1918 when the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
drafted him to serve in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. As a veteran of World War I he broke the record for longest-lived veteran of any military force, previously set by
Antonio Todde
Italian supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Italy who have attained or surpassed 110 years of age. , the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 151 Italian supercentenarians, the majorit ...
(Mercado was still at a training camp in Panama when the November 11, 1918
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
was declared). Mercado was discharged the following month, when he was still 27.
In 1993, he was honored by U.S. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
with the medal commemorating the 75th anniversary of the signing of the truce that ended World War I. Mercado del Toro, the elder of two siblings, had to move from his familiar Cabo Rojo grounds due to a fall he had in his home when he was 102, which affected his hipbone. His 85-year-old niece took him to live with his relatives, and he was well taken care of by nieces and nephews - and their families, who called him ''"Tío Millo"'' ("Uncle Millo")- at their home in Isabela.
The mayor of Isabela, Puerto Rico said a home for the elderly would be renamed in his honor.
Later life
Mercado could reminisce about being a child when U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and he clearly remembered the fighting that marked the end of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
's colonial empire in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. He credited his longevity to ''funche'', a boiled
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
fish and
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
cream-like dish, which he ate every day as a habit.
His last two birthdays were media events in the town of Isabela. Civic leaders and veterans commended Mercado on his endurance and lucid mind, but the "gift" he would enjoy the most was the visit of Puerto Rican '' vedette'' and media icon
Iris Chacón
Iris Belia Chacón Tapia (born March 7, 1950 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican dancer, singer, actress, and entertainer. She enjoys great popularity in Puerto Rico (where she had a weekly variety show for more than a decade) and in o ...
. In an interview, Mercado claimed to be a great fan of the artist, and particularly of her
derrière
The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...
(''"That rump was something serious!"'', he was quoted as saying). Chacón visited Mercado, who, although he could barely see or hear by the time of his 114th birthday, was pleased with her visit. His photo touching Chacón's
rear end Rear end may refer to:
*Buttocks, euphemistically
*Rear-end collision
A rear-end collision (often called simply rear-end or in the UK a shunt) occurs when a vehicle crashes into the one in front of it. Common factors contributing to rear-end ...
, with a big smile on his face, made newspaper headlines in Puerto Rico. She returned the following year to greet him. After hearing news of Mercado's death, Chacón was quoted as saying: ''"I feel like I've lost my own grandfather. I was blessed for knowing him, knowing that I made him happy, and blessed for the anecdotes and wishes he told me the times I met him. His wisdom is something I learned a lot from. His life is an example of how you're supposed to live your life, happily and doing good, for it will give you longevity and goodwill from everyone."''
He was buried at Cementerio Municipal San Martín de Porres of his native town of Cabo Rojo, with mayors, legislators, fellow veterans and Puerto Rican "vedette"
Iris Chacón
Iris Belia Chacón Tapia (born March 7, 1950 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican dancer, singer, actress, and entertainer. She enjoys great popularity in Puerto Rico (where she had a weekly variety show for more than a decade) and in o ...
in attendance. After his death,
Emma Tillman
Emmaline Fanchon Tillman, ( Faust; November 22, 1892 – January 28, 2007) was an American supercentenarian and, for a few days, the world's oldest living person until she died aged 114 years and 67 days.
Biography
Tillman was one of 23 childre ...
List of the verified oldest people
These are lists of the 100 known verified oldest people sorted in descending order by age in years and days.
The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 12 ...
*
Longevity
The word " longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, the term ''longevity'' is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is always d ...
*
Supercentenarian
A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...