A 117-year-old Jamaican Baptist woman is now the world’s oldest human, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
Violette Moss Brown
With Saturday’s death of Italian Emma Morano, born in 1899 and the last survivor from the 19th century, Violet Mosse-Brown became the oldest of 42 validated living supercentenarians — people 110 and older — ranked by the research group formed in 1990 and dedicated to slowing aging and lengthening healthy lifespans.
Affectionately nicknamed Aunt V, Violet Mosse-Brown was born March 10, 1900. A post-slavery survivor, she worked early in life as a plantation worker and maid. She was baptized more than a century ago at age 13 in the Baptist church and served as church organist, choir mistress and secretary for more than 80 years. She is the last living subject of Queen Victoria.
Forty-one of the 42 oldest living humans are females. The oldest verified person ever is Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.
The oldest known person living in America is Pennsylvanian Delphine Gibson, 113, the 12th oldest person worldwide. The oldest male, 113-year-old Israel Kristal, was born in what was then Russia (now Poland) and lives in Israel.