, the

Gerontology Research Group The Gerontology Research Group (GRG) based in Los Angeles, California, US, is a global non-profit scientific organization of researchers in various fields of gerontology, primarily concerned with validating the ages of, recording and researching ...

had validated the longevity claims of 154 British persons who have become "

supercentenarian A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...

s", attaining or surpassing 110 years of age. This number includes emigrants who died in other nations. The oldest known British person ever is

Ethel Caterham Ethel May Caterham (née Collins; born 21 August 1909) is a British supercentenarian who, at the age of , is the world's oldest known living person since the death of Inah Canabarro Lucas on 30 April 2025, the oldest British person ever, an ...

, who is currently living at the age of , and is additionally the oldest living person in the world. 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 wo ...

, who died in 2009 at the age of 113 years and 42 days.

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 church is the parish church. The village's name means 'Farm/settlement con ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, immigrated to the United States, settled in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, 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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. On her 112th birthday, she was featured in the US Army magazine '' Stars and Stripes''. She died in

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, 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 British reference book published annually, list ...

'' 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.

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 suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 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.

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Supercentenarians A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until short ...