Susanna Bokoyni (24 April 1879 – 24 August 1984), also known as "Princess Susanna", was a
Hungarian centenarian
A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...
and
circus performer
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
who was listed in
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 longest-lived
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
on record.
Early life and career
Bokoyni was born in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
on 24 April 1879. Medical doctors told her family that she would not live past age seven. At age 16, she became a dancer at
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
's Orpheum Theater. She later toured with Rose's Parisian Midget Follies and
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
where she performed a
tightrope act.
Later life and death
In 1972, the nonagenarian Bokoyni moved to
Newton, New Jersey
Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrati ...
and settled at the Merriam House Retirement Home. On 24 August 1984, she died at age 105 at
Newton Memorial Hospital. She was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in
Vernon, New Jersey
Vernon Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located about one hour's drive from New York City and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population wa ...
.
[Profile](_blank)
weirdnj.com; accessed 28 July 2017.
See also
*
List of centenarians (actors, filmmakers and entertainers)
The following is a list of centenarians – specifically, people who became famous as actors, filmmakers and entertainers – known for reasons other than their longevity. For more lists, see lists of centenarians
The following is a list of list ...
References
1879 births
1984 deaths
Entertainers with dwarfism
Hungarian people with disabilities
Hungarian circus performers
Hungarian centenarians
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Women centenarians
Entertainers from Budapest
Burials in New Jersey
Circus performers from Austria-Hungary
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