Jeanne Calment was born in the town of Arles in France on February 21st 1875 and when she passed away on August 4th 1997 she had achieved a lifespan that no other person has verifiably matched, a staggering 122 years and 164 days.
Researchers in the field of longevity have studied this amazing lady, tracing her family back several generations, and trying to identify what clues may exist to show us how and why she lived so long.
Mrs Calment's own parents seem to have shared the longevity gene, her mother lived to the age of 86, and her father lived to 93. However her only child, from her marriage to Fernand Calment in 1896, passed away in her thirties having suffered from ill health for many years. There is certainly evidence of longevity in Mrs Calment's family, but little to explain how she achieved such an extraordinary age. So what other factors may have played a part?
Attitude to Life
Those who knew Jeanne Calment in her extreme old age talked of her spirit, her enjoyment of life, and her serene nature, and many have remarked that these things may have been one of the biggest factors in her ability to defy the odds and live so long. French health researcher Jean-Marie Robine recalled a woman who he believed was "someone who, constitutionally and biologically speaking, was immune to stress." (Calment Obituary, NY Times, 5th August 1997).
Humour in Old Age
Jeanne Calment retained her now famous sense of humour well into extreme old age. On one occasion, a reporter who was departing from a visit to Mrs Calment asked "Until next year perhaps?". Jeanne replied "I don't see why not, you don't look so bad to me!". Upon her 120th birthday she was asked what kind of future she expected. Her reply? "A very short one!".
Rivals for The Oldest Person Ever
So has anyone else come close to reaching such an age? American woman Sarah Knauss, who was born five years after Mrs Calment, reached the age of 119, passing away at the end of 1999. Mrs Knauss' age is the second oldest ever validated beyond reasonable doubt, but even she fell more than three years short of Mrs Calment's record breaking time on Earth. Today, the oldest living person whose age has been fully verified is American woman Edna Parker, who was born in April 1893, and is fast approaching her 115th birthday. Whether anybody will match Mrs Calment's age in the near future remains to be seen, but it will surely be some years before we see her like again.
References:
1) The Gerontology Research Group www.grg.org
