Britain’s Ethel Caterham has celebrated her 116th birthday, becoming the first person in British history to reach the milestone and confirming her status as the world’s oldest living person. The quiet occasion was marked with family and friends at her care home.
Born on August 21, 1909, Ethel Caterham officially became the world’s oldest living person in April of this year following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas. A subject of King Edward VII, who reigned until 1910, Caterham is the last known person born in the 1900s still alive today. A former nanny who lived in India, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar with her late husband, a British Army officer, she has outlived both of her daughters. She now has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A spokesperson for her care home in Surrey stated that Caterham, who survived a bout of COVID-19 at the age of 110, was spending the day “at her own pace” and had opted to decline media interviews. However, the care home noted that she may make an exception for a potential call from King Charles III, who sent her a letter on her 115th birthday. When previously asked about her secret to longevity, she has been quoted as saying, “Never arguing with anyone! I listen and I do what I like.”
The title of the oldest person ever verified by Guinness World Records remains held by French woman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old before her death in 1997.