On Friday, 111-year-old John Alfred Tinniswood from England became the world’s oldest living man, following the death of 114-year-old Juan Vicente Pérez (Venezuela).
112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe from Japan was initially expected to be the new record holder, but he was recently confirmed to have passed away on 31 March.
Tribune Online outlines 10 facts about the 111-year-old world’s oldest man:
1. Tinniswood was born in Liverpool on 26 August 1912, the same year the Titanic sank. John’s exact age is 111 years 223 days as of 5 April 2024.
2. John is a great-grandfather and currently resides at a care home in Southport, where staff fondly describes him as “a big chatterbox”.
3. Despite his well-advanced age, John performs most daily tasks himself as he gets out of bed unassisted, listens to the radio to keep up with the news, and still manages his finances.
4. He doesn’t have a special diet beyond eating a portion of battered fish and chips every Friday. He said, “I eat what they give me and so does everybody else. I don’t have a special diet.”
He attributes the secret to his longevity as “pure luck”. He said: “You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it.”
5. John doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks alcohol. His main advice for staying healthy is to practice moderation: “If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much; if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually.”
6. He is a lifelong Liverpool FC fan, and he was born just 20 years after the club was founded in 1892. He has basically lived through all eight of his club’s FA Cup wins and 17 of their 19 league title wins.
7. John has also lived through both World Wars; he was 27 when the second one broke out, and despite having eyesight issues, he found purpose by working in an administrative role for the Army Pay Corps.
After the war, John worked in accounts for Shell and BP up until his retirement in 1972.
8. John met his wife, Blodwen, at a dance in Liverpool. One of his fondest memories is of their wedding in 1942, a year before having their daughter, Susan. The couple enjoyed 44 years together before Blodwen passed away in 1986.
9. John now has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Since turning 100 in 2012, John received a birthday card each year from the late Queen Elizabeth, who was John’s junior by almost 14 years.
10. Having become the UK’s oldest man in 2020, John is unfazed by his new-found status as the oldest in the entire world. “Doesn’t make any difference to me,” he said. “Not at all. I accept it for what it is.”
After confirming him to be the oldest man alive, Guinness World Records Official Adjudicator Megan Bruce travelled to Southport to present John with his certificate and learn more about his long life.
His advice for younger generations is: “Always do the best you can, whether you’re learning something or whether you’re teaching someone. Give it all you’ve got. Otherwise, it’s not worth bothering with.”
The oldest man ever was Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013) from Japan, who lived to the age of 116 years 54 days.
The world’s oldest living woman and oldest living person overall is Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, who recently celebrated her 117th birthday.
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