WORLD RECORDS

World’s oldest man celebrates birthday: Who are the oldest living people in the world?

John Tinniswood, the world’s oldest living man, has celebrated his 112th birthday. He attributes his long life to ‘simple luck’ and follows no special diet.

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The world’s oldest living man has turned 112 at his retirement home in Merseyside, England. John Alfred Tinniswood, who was born on the same year as the sinking of the Titanic, has emphatically declared that he has no “special secrets” to share regarding his longevity.

Tinniswood has attributed his long life to “simple luck”, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He does not follow a special diet, except for eating fish and chips every Friday.

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When and where was the oldest living man born?

A die-hard Liverpool fan, Tinniswood was born in the town on August 26, 1912, just 20 years after the club was founded. He has been part of almost every era of the soccer club’s history, including all eight of the Reds’ FA Cup victories and most of their league triumphs.

He met his wife, Blodwen, at a dance. Before she died in 1986, the two were together for 44 years, sharing a daughter, Susan, who was born in 1943. Tinniswood is now a great-grandfather of three and grandfather of four.

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Career path of the oldest living man

Professionally, he played an administrative role in the Army Pay Corps, locating stranded soldiers and organizing food supplies. After World War II, he worked as an accountant for Shell and BP, before retiring in 1972.

He is now the world’s oldest surviving veteran of World War II. In April, he also became the world’s oldest living man, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. At that time, 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez Mora passed away.

‘You either live long or you live short and you can’t do much about it’

Since turning 100 in 2012, Tinniswood has received an annual birthday card from the monarch: first from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was almost 14 years his junior, and then from King Charles III.

The longest-lived man in history was Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to 116 years and 54 days and died in 2013. The world's longest-lived woman, and the world's longest-lived person, is 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka of Japan.

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“You either live a long life or you live a short life, and you can’t do much about it,” Tinniwood concluded. A life lesson that has quickly gone viral on social media, with a multitude of greetings for the long-lived person on his very special day.

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