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, the
Gerontology Research Group The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) based in Los Angeles, California, USA, is a global social science organization of researchers in various fields of gerontology, primarily concerned with verifying and recording supercentenarians status (peop ...
had validated the longevity claims of 154 British citizens who have become "
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 ...
s", attaining or surpassing 110 years of age. This number includes 23 emigrants who died in other nations. The oldest known British person is
Charlotte Hughes Charlotte Hughes (born in 1954) is an American author of romance and comedy novels, who lives in South Carolina. Biography Hughes was born in Williamston, South Carolina; soon after her birth, her family relocated to Texas. While she was a vorac ...
, who died in 1993 at the age of 115 years and 228 days. The oldest man from the United Kingdom is
Henry Allingham Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was an English supercentenarian. He is the longest-lived man ever recorded from the United Kingdom, a First World War veteran, and, for one month, the verified oldest living man in the w ...
, who died in 2009 at the age of 113 years and 42 days. As of , the oldest person living in the United Kingdom is Ethel Caterham, born 21 August 1909, aged .


100 oldest British people ever


Notes


Biographies


Betsy Baker

Betsy Ann Baker (née Russell; born August 20, 1842 – October 24, 1955) was born in
Great Brington Great Brington is a village in Northamptonshire, England, in the civil parish of Brington, which at the 2011 Census had a population of about 200. St Mary the Virgin's church is the parish church. The villages name means 'Farm/settlement con ...
,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, immigrated to the United States, settled in
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, and became the world's oldest person. She lived for 65 years in Johnson County, where she was called "the Queen mother of the Johnson County Fair" in 1953. At age 107, she received a congratulatory letter from president
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
. On her 112th birthday, she was featured in the US Army magazine '' Stars and Stripes''. She died in
Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...
, aged 113 years and 65 days. Baker was the first supercentenarian listed 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 ...
'' as the world's oldest person. In 2002, researchers confirmed that she had been the world's oldest living person by modern verification standards. Baker would hold the title of world's oldest living person from Nancy Merriman's death on 14 January 1954 until her own death in 1955. She was the second well-documented person in the world to have reached the age of 113, after
Delina Filkins Delina Filkins (née Ecker; 4 May 1815 – 4 December 1928) was an American supercentenarian, and the first person verifiably to reach the age of 113. Noted during her own lifetime for her advanced age in the local and national press, she lived ...
.


Lucy Jane Askew

Lucy Jane Askew (8 September 1883 – 9 December 1997) was the oldest person in Europe at the time of her death, aged 114 years and 92 days. She was born in
Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, to Arthur George Askew and Susan Elizabeth Askew née Ellis. Her parents were prosperous cartage contractors, cab proprietors, and landowners. She had five siblings, of whom three also lived past 100. Askew lived all her life in Loughton, and never married. She was a devout
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, attending the Loughton Union Church. She moved into a nursing home at 106 and survived a leg operation at 108. She remained in good health and died peacefully in her sleep. She attributed her longevity to a modest lifestyle.


Eva Morris

Eva Morris (née Sharpe; 8 November 1885 – 2 November 2000) was the world's oldest living person at the time of her death. She was born in
Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...
,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
and became a
domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
. She married, but was widowed in the 1930s. Her only child, Winnie, died of cancer in 1975, aged 62. Morris lived independently in her own flat until she was 107, but after suffering from a chest infection, she moved to a care home in
Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
, where she resided at the time of her death. She was deaf and visually impaired in her final years, and reportedly had put her longevity down to work, exercise,
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
and boiled onions. She became the oldest living person upon the death of 119-year-old
Sarah Knauss Sarah DeRemer Knauss (; September 24, 1880 – December 30, 1999) was an American supercentenarian. She is the oldest person ever from the United States and, on April 16, 1998, became the world's oldest living person. She remains as the third ...
on 30 December 1999. She died just six days before her 115th birthday, and remains the third-oldest British person ever.


Edith Ingamells

Edith 'Judy' Ingamells (née Gude; 12 January 1894 – 1 March 2006) was the oldest person in the United Kingdom from December 2005 to March 2006. She was born in
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, to George and Harriet Gude. According to census documents, George worked as a photographer in 1901 and a public caterer in 1911. She moved to
Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, at the beginning of the
First World War 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 ...
in 1914, and married Percy Ingamells, a wholesale florist. They had three daughters, born between 1915 and 1925. Ingamells lived in other areas around England, and worked as a
milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
before settling back in Enfield in 1990. Her daughter, Patricia Bull, said, at the time of Ingemells' 111th birthday, that the secret of her longevity was to "never look back, always look forward, which she is certainly doing".


References

{{Longevity
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
Supercentenarians 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 ...
.